The Ugokanai Clan
by spiffyglitter
Summary: When a type of Hollow previously though to be extinct suddenly appears, the only people capable of stopping them are the Ugokanai. Too bad they're all dead. Or are they? Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. The Interrogation

**Note: I don't own anything at all, except for my OCs. That's all**

_ "Whatever you do, don't tell them. Avoid it completely. You were simply a servant. Nothing more. It's basically the truth. Not really a lie. More like just part of the truth." _The seventh seat tried to prepare himself for the interrogation. The interrogation that should have taken place years before, but held off until today because no one wanted to remember the family he had worked for before entering the Shinigami Academy. That was before the Invincibles had suddenly begun appearing again.

The majority of Squad 11 was gravely injured at the hands of these strange Hollows. He had been helping with an emergency surgery when he was suddenly summoned.

He took a deep breath before entering Captain Unahana's office, wondering how easily he'd give himself away. His captain sat in front of a desk cluttered with various files and documents. Great. With all that information, he could mess up one tiny detail and ruin everything.

"Hello Hanataro. Please sit down." She offered him a sincere smile and he relaxed slightly. The shinigami lowered himself into the wooden chair on the opposite side of the desk. Unahana took out a sheet of paper and prepared to take notes.

"Now, we understand you worked for the Ugokanai family before their estate burned down. What duties were you given?"

Hanataro wondered who exactly "we" pertained too, but quickly answered.

"I... I was in charge of Eriko-cha- I mean Ugokanai Eriko."

"Yes, I believe you were quite close to the child if I'm not mistaken. You attempted to heal her burns after the fire." The young shinigami sat still with fear, wondering how she knew this, until he remembered it was Captain Unahana herself who had told him there was nothing anyone could do to save Eriko.

"She.. she wasn't like the rest of them, Captain. She never tried to... to control people. She wouldn't do that. She didn't deserve..." he broke off, aware that tears were beginning to blur his vision.

_How would he know what she would have become? She was only a child_.

Hanataro clenched his fists, angered at what had just run through his superior's mind. But he couldn't say anything. Then she would know.

"Let's move on," the captain said a bit too cheerfully. "The Ugokanais were able to defeat the Invincibles by using mind control to make them _want_ to be destroyed. As the Invincible population decreased to an assumed extinction, the family's status within the Soul Society also diminished, no longer really having a purpose. Then they began to use mind control to keep themselves in power. Do you have anything to add to that?" she continued to smile, although something about her thoughts told him he better have something to add.

"Um, that's all true. They were very powerful. They thought there was a way to keep their power... pure..." This wasn't looking good. He had gotten onto the topic he was trying to avoid. That was just the story of his life.

"And how exactly did they intend to do that?"

"Well, if you'd recall, every Ugokanai had 'golden hair and pearly skin'," he replied, vaguely quoting one of the Codes of the Ugokanai.

"Yes, I remember." the Captain frowned. " Are you implying that this as intentional? But there had to have been some children born without those characteristics."

Sweat began forming on the seventh seat's forehead. His hands suddenly became cold and clammy.

"I...I don't think that ever h-happened, Captain," he stuttered. _But it did._

The Captain nodded and the shinigami in front of her didn't dare risk trying to find out if she bought that. He tried to focus on anything but her mind.

"Did the Ugokanai have any other abilities besides mind control?"

"Well, basically, they were able to access a soul's mind completely, at least the ones who possessed the power could. Some could only read minds. Some could control them. The Head Ugokanai could do both and so could any of the Ugokanai warriors."

The captain's brow wrinkled. "That's new. There's no reference to any mind reading in these files," she said flipping through them.

Hanataro's eyes widened. "Oh! That was the most well-kept secret of the Ugokanai! No one is supposed to know about that! How'd I forget?" Now he was in trouble.

"It's fine really. Now we know why it was so easy for them to take control of the Soul Society. Do you know any more secrets, Hanataro? It would be a great help to us." she asked sweetly.

"Not really." _Yes, really,_ he thought.

"Hanataro, after several tests, it was found that my mind had been tampered with during the Ugokanai Takeover, yet I never felt as if any of my thoughts came from someone else. They all felt genuine."

"A talented Ugokanai can blend thoughts with his own commands well enough that the one being controls can't detect any difference." _Unless you're an Ugokanai yourself._

"I see. I have a few more questions, and then you are to report back to the Operating Room." he was glad it was almost over.

"The spiritual pressure of the Ugokanai should be very high, yet it is the same as any normal soul, as the Invincibles seem to be average Hollows. When the estate burned down, there seemed to be no survivors, well except for you that is."

He still felt a bit guilty about being the only one who got to live.

"But the Ugokanais had a private Senkaimon on the grounds."

"You think some of them might have escaped to the World of the Living?"

She nodded. "It's possible. But there is no way to root them out as they don't have a particular spiritual pressure. Do you know of any way to distinguish them?"

"I could." _What are you doing? Shut up! No, no she'll figure you out. Think of something.. fast!" _Uh... some people could sense their spiritual pressure... if they were around them often." Okay, that was definitely a lie. It was impossible to tell, thank God for him. But there was no proof otherwise.

Her eyes widened. "In that case, if you can sense the Ugokanai, then you may be vital to our mission. I'll have to send you to the World of the Living. You'll leave in the morning, hopefully. I'll speak to the Head Captain. There's no time to waste, but we need all hands on deck to keep those Squad 11 members alive. This all came on so fast.. who knew the Invincibles would come back? And with no Ugokanai... oh, you're excused. Please go back to the Operating Room. In fact, I should be going as well. I wish the interrogation could have waited, but unfortunately the Head Captain wanted this information as soon as possible. Well, go on."

Shakingly, he stood and hurried out the door, not wanting to dwell on his Captain's lingering thoughts.

_There's something he's not telling me. _

So she was suspicious. Now he knew he had to do everything he could to lay low around her and not give anything away. He sighed with relief, grateful to be out of the hot seat and that he didn't give anything away.

Hanataro wasn't used to this skill at all. It had come out of no where hardly two weeks before. He honestly hated being forced to be so invasive, but he didn't really have a choice. After hours of working nonstop that night, he finally had the chance t ask himself the question.

If he could read minds now, what else could he do? And did this mean... Hanataro Yamada of Squad 4 was possibly the last Ugokanai?


	2. The Grave

He woke before dawn and crept out of the Squad 4 barracks into the Rukongai. If he hurried, he could be back before anyone missed him.

It was a long walk, but he knew the exact location despite rarely being able to visit. Squad 4 members rarely get leisure time. But he was going to this time. He had to. It was in the East Area 1, in a place very much overgrown with forest life. The woods here were filled with flowers, originally from the Ugokanai's gardens.

Hanataro soon found himself in the blackened ruins of the Ugokanai estate. There were a few cinder blocks here and there, some charred stumps of walls, and melted, metal lumps that could really be anything.

His gaze fell on what he had been looking for. A long line of simple stones nestled into the ground. Here laid every single person whose body had been found. At the end of the row, was the one he was looking for.

"I'm back, Eri-chan," he smiled as he knelt before her grave. He snapped the stem of a large pink flower off a bush and laid it on the stone.

"Tomorrow they're sending me to look for Ugokanais," he began, shaking his head. The row of stones was short, considering how many people lived and worked here, maybe some were alive. Then he remembered most of those rocks marked mass graves with at last a dozen people in them. Still, it was possible. He couldn't be the last one. He couldn't be.

"Those Hollows your mother fought are back. There's no one to fight them now. Your mother was a good Head Ugokanai. It's my fault she lost that title." He shook his head, remembering his past, remembering the Head Ugokanai's words.

_"You've turned me into a disgrace. Because of you, I've lost everything. Remember this, Taro. You are no Ugokanai and you are no son of mine."_

He began talking about the times he and Eriko had spent together. Just rambling on to forget his own worries. Everything except their last day together. A painful, horrible day. When she was born and he had been put in charge of her, being hardly more than a toddler himself. When he began taking her outside everyday to play in the lush flower fields. When she began calling him "Hanataro" because of this. How he had kept the name when he entered the Shinigami Academy to honor her memory, despite knowing that it was practically begging classmates to torment him.

The many times she ran away to deliver flowers to people she had never met in her life, which always gave him the panic attack of the century and was always very mysterious and strange, especially when she managed to escape to the World of the Living on one occasion. The people she gave the flowers too and how they were doing.

"And that white-haired kid, you know the one you gave the snow drop blossoms to? He's a captain now! Of Squad 10. I wonder if he still has those flowers you gave him. Probably not. But do you remember his face when you came up to him? It still makes me laugh sometimes! He's so serious all the time, it's kind of scary, but not as scary as the other person you gave a flower to. The captain of Squad 11! I was afraid of him, but you weren't. I'm still not that brave. Oh! Did I ever tell you about how Rukia was arrested? That's right, I told you last time I visited. Well, anyway..."

He kept at it until the sky became red and orange as sunrise approached.

"Well, Eri-chan, looks like I have to go. Wherever you are, I hope the sunrise is beautiful for you too." He rose and rubbed his tired eyes, surprised to find his entire face soaked with tears. He took a few steps and paused in front of a different stone.

" Ugokanai Shiori, I'll do my best not to disgrace you this time. You're right. I'm no Ugokanai." he sighed. "But I feel more like one everyday."

He turned and left. He arrived at Squad 4 as the shinigami were sitting down for breakfast. Captain Unahana approached him.

"There is no time to waste. You are to report to the Senkaimon immediately." Slightly disappointed to be missing out on a meal, but excited to begin his mission, he nodded and was on his way.


	3. The Shoulder

_Note: Because I'm not caught up with the manga/ anime, some of this stuff might not be totally accurate, but just go with it. ;) Also, I won't usually use Japanese honorifics, although Hanataro does refer to Ugokanai Eriko as "Eri-chan" often, although technically she was by far his superior. _

A Hollow's head split open with one last, powerful cut. Ichigo Kurosaki winced as his feet touched down to the ground. This one had put up a better fight than he had expected. Rukia raced to his side.

"Ichigo!" She watched blood drip from his deep shoulder wound. "You have to learn to stop underestimating your opponent. That injury looks serious. We're lucky it wasn't one of those Invincible things that appeared in the Soul Society last night." The two had been informed of the misfortune only a few hours ago. Rukia had done her best to explain the mind-controlling clan with what limited knowledge she had. The family had always been extremely secretive.

The Substitute Shinigami nodded. "Convenient. Not a single control freak left and now those things start showing up again. What I still don't get is why they just retreated instead of killing every single shinigami."

"The Invincibles are probably few and weak at the moment. The Department of Research and Development has theorized that their retreat may mean that they have been controlled by something much more intelligent than an average Hollow and whoever that is may be paranoid of any remaining Ugokanai," she explained.

"So what we have to do is find this guy and beat the crap out of-"

"It's not that simple!" Rukia almost slapped him before remembering his injury. Honestly, it was like he only used his head for growing orange hair gardens. She softened her tone and eyed him. "We have next to no information and even if we did, they're called Invincibles for a reason." Ichigo muttered something about being to handle it. The dark-haired shinigami sighed. "We should probably call Orihime before she leaves for school."

Ichigo was grasping his shoulder, trying to prevent the bleeding. He was about to say something, but before he could, a Senkaimon suddenly appeared in front of them. Through the bright light stepped a small, anxious-looking shinigami wearing a white medical backpack.

"Nevermind, Rukia. We don't need to bother Orihime this time," Ichigo cracked a smile. "Hey Hanataro, I don't know what you're doing here, but for once you're gonna actually come in handy. So get over here NOW!"

His eyes widened, knowing he wouldn't hurt him, but still, even in Ichigo's condition, he could beat him up with one finger. With his eyes closed.

Hanataro immediately rushed to his aid, hands already glowing with healing kido.

"Ichigo, Rukia! What happened? Wha- WHOA!" Somehow he managed to trip over a completely smooth, clean sidewalk. The Substitute Shinigami groaned. He had yet to find something Hanataro _couldn't_ trip on.

As the three sat in a quiet alley, they exchanged their experiences since the Invincibles had appeared.

"You never told me you worked for the Ugokanai Clan!" Rukia exclaimed, astonished. She recalled the Squad 4 member's daily visits while she was imprisoned, making her life a little more bearable what with his constant cheerful conversations.

As he tended to Ichigo's shoulder wound, Hanataro laughed tensely, "Ha. Yeah, w-well, it's not generally seen as very honorable considering they tried to take over the Seireitei."

All were silent at this, although their thoughts were loud.

_After all those years having no choice but to hide his past... now he's suddenly expected to have all the answers. It doesn't seem fair, _one sighed.

_ Ha! So this kid spent his life cleaning the dust off the control freaks' little secrets. He probably __knows more about this than every captain combined! _Exclaimed a second.

_ I didn't hear that. I didn't hear anything. This is the only voice I can hear. Because I am normal. __That's right. Totally normal. Not an Ugokanai. That's... that's crazy... _

And you can guess who that was.

After a while, Ichigo's serious injury was no worse than a bad run-in with a pair of scissors, although it didn't have the same "Never even happened" look as Orihime's abilities allowed.

He stood up. "Thanks, Hanataro," he grinned as he used his healed arm to "playfully" punch the medic in his own shoulder, which resulted in a scream of pain. Ichigo shook his head. "You really need to learn to take a hit. We have to get to school. God knows what Kon and Chappy are doing to destroy our reputations." As they walked away, he called over his shoulder,

"You better find those Ugokanais fast, because if the entire Squad 11 couldn't handle it... who exactly can?"

After they had gone, Hanataro continued to stand motionless in the alley, remembering Ichigo's words.

"Not me," he said at last. "Definitely not me."


	4. The Tea

_Note: Introduction of an OC! This will probably be much longer than the previous chapters. _

Hanataro slowly made his way to Unahana's Shop, knowing he would be needing a Gigai if he was going to be in the World of the Living for a while. As he walked, the seventh seat focused on searching for Ugokanai spiritual pressure. He knew it well. It was sickly sweet and comforting, like a warm cup of tea with a whole bowl of sugar dumped in it, but he knew it was a barely subconscious trait not even the Head Captain could detect.

Being able to recognize each other's Reiryoku had prevented the clan from controlling each other. When they tried, it only came across as a deliberate messages sent telepathically, which was _extremely _creepy, like having an icy voice whisper in your ear out of nowhere, telling you to go mop the floors in the grand hallway. With anyone else, this would be mind control. Working alongside the other servants, he quickly realized they were all practically robots. The fact that he _could_ disobey, that he worried about his own well-being had been what separated him from the rest. For this reason, he was specifically a _private_ servant, only allowed to serve Ugokanai Shiori and her children. The ex-Head Ugokanai did everything she could to hide the truth in a palace of psychics.

Even as he concentrated, he had absolutely no luck by the time he arrived at the shop, not that he expected to. The Ugokanais could be anywhere in the world and it would be a miracle if he found one in Karakura Town.

The entire store was covered in a strange green liquid and a huge chunk of one wall was completely destroyed, along with several back rooms behind it. Jinta barked orders at Ururu as she attempted to mop up the mess. Hanataro wondered what experiment went wrong as he cautiously stepped through the door.

"Um, excuse me, I-I'm sorry. You seem busy..." The small pigtailed girl look up as he spoke.

"DARN RIGHT WE ARE! Ururu! Get back to work!" Jinta yelled. "Whatya want, _Squad 4_?"

The weakness of his division was no secret. "Uh-um. I'm o-on a mission... and I-I need my Gigai. Do-"

"I know where it is!" Ururu exclaimed, shoving the mop at Jinta, who tried to protest. "Come with me, please." Hanataro followed her down the equally messy hall to a dark storage room. She scanned the tall shelves for a moment and then pointed to one high above the ground. "It's in that box."

The medic squinted his eyes and saw the long container was indeed marked, 'Yamada Hanataro.' He brought a ladder over and carefully climbed. The cardboard box was heavy, but he was able to handle it... until he realized he wasn't holding onto the ladder.

The box, the ladder, and the clumsy shinigami all came crashing to the ground. The noise sent Urahara running.

"What is going on in my shop?!" He demanded. Ururu and Hanataro looked up with wide, frightened eyes.

"I'm sorry, sir. He needed his Gigai." The little girl looked down at her feet. Urahara rumbled her hair.

"Thank you for taking care of our customer, Ururu," he smiled. He looked up at Hanataro and said in a serious voice, "I assume this as something to do with the Invincibles. I'm having Yoruichi look into it."

He nodded as he rubbed his elbow. "I've been sent here to search for any Ugokanais who escaped the fire. Because I'm familiar with their spiritual pressure."

"Hmmm... Yes, yes, a tragic accident. They never did discover the cause." He motioned to the green mess on the walls. "As you can see, I've been trying to develop a material to identify Ugokanais, but we ran into a bit of a mishap, which is why if you plan to stay in the World of the Living, I cannot offer any shelter as my shop has been partially destroyed." He shook his head sadly. Hanataro felt sorry for him, being so busy and now having this on his hands.

"Oh! That's fine! M-maybe I can help you! I'm quite good at cleaning."

"Good! Have a mop!" Jinta rushed in and thrust the dripping mop at the shinigami.

Wearing the Gigai at first felt like becoming a rock after just being a feather, but the seventh seat quickly got used to it as he scrubbed away green gunk, feeling like he might as well be back cleaning the sewers but glad to help. His dark blue sweatshirt was slightly too big, but suited him well.

Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu suddenly rushed through the door.

"Urahara! Do you know about- Jeez, what happened here?"

"Yes, Mr. Kurosaki, I'm well aware of the issue in the Soul Society. And by trying to solve those issues, I have created my own. Unfortunately, we're lacking time and information at the moment, which is why Mr. Yamada needs to get out of my shop and do what he's _supposed to_!"

"Y-yes, sir," Hanataro stood up. "Yes, I really should be going. Good luck with your research."

"Hanataro, where are you staying?" Rukia asked.

"Oh, well I can't stay in Mr. Urahara's place, so... I haven't figured that out just yet," he smiled cheerfully.

"You can stay with us," she offered. _Does he ever stop to think about himself? _She wondered.

"Really, I'm not that..." he immediately answered before realizing he was answering the non-spoken question, "...deeeeserving of your hospitality?" He managed turn turn a protest into a warped question.

Ichigo stuck his nose in his face. "Is there something wrong with my house?" he asked threateningly.

"Uh, n-n-no?" he squeaked back. The Substitute shinigami grabbed him by the hood of his sweatshirt and threw him over his shoulder.

"THEN YOU'RE STAYING WITH US!" He proceeded to run out the door with the panicked medic in-tow. Rukia ran after them.

"Ahh! Put me down! Please! I won't run away! I love your house! It's beautiful!" Ichigo dropped him, causing Hanataro to land hard on the sidewalk.

He pointed a finger at him. "Damn right it is! So you better respect it next time you get such an honorable offer of living in it!"

"Sure, of course! I won't disrespect your home ever again! Please don't hurt me!" He protected his face from possible future blows.

_This kid is hilarious to mess with. Ha! And really light too. He needs to put on some muscle._

"Wait a minute... you're not really angry at me a-are you?" he raised his head cautiously.

The orange-haired teenager shook his head and smiled. "You're a real idiot, you know?"

"Ichigo, leave him alone," Rukia demanded as she caught up with them. As they made their way back to the clinic, she explained that she had informed Orihime, Chad, and Uyru of the recent events. Hanataro continued to concentrate on Ugokanai Reiryoku.

"So what exactly is an Ugokanai's spiritual pressure like?" she asked.

"Tea," he said quickly, "with lots of sugar!"

"That doesn't make any sense. Reiryoku doesn't have a _flavor_," Ichigo replied, confused.

"Theirs did."

"Uh-huh... well, you're the expert, I guess."

Hanataro shrugged. "I really don't know as much as everyone seems to think I do."

"Well at this point, you're the only shot we've got at finding the control freaks, and someone has to at least _pretend_ to know what he's doing."

Before he could answer, they arrived at the Kurosaki Clinic.

Ichigo's father attempted once again to surprise him with a kick in the face when he opened the door, but he just pushed his foot out of the way.

"I'm NOT gonna fall for that, old man," He said in a bored tone. "Anyway, this is Hanataro Yamada and he's staying with us now." He jerked his thumb at the anxious shinigami.

Doctor Kurosaki eyed the boy suspiciously. "I don't know about that, Ichigo,"

_Another shinigami, eh? What's going on now?_

Hanataro froze. How did Ichigo's father know about him? From what Ichigo had told him, he probably kept his knowledge a secret from his son.

"O-okay, that's fine. I'll just be going now..." he turned to head out the door. Ichigo again grabbed him by the hood.

"STAY."

"How do I know this boy will not be a menace my dear daughters?" Isshin asked accusingly.

"Because he's pathetic," Karin answered, stepping into the hallway. "He's afraid of YOU." She crossed her arms.

"Doctor Kurosaki, he will be very helpful to you in the clinic. He has an exceptional medical background."

"Really? A boy your age?" _Must be from the Fourth Division._

"T-that's right..." he tried to agree, although he wasn't sure healing kido was a legitimate World of the Living treatment.

"Okay, fine. Seeing as you are weak and pathetic, as my Karin has put it, it will be fine for you to stay with us temporarily."

Ichigo's other sister approached. "Oh dear. More laundry and cooking?" she sighed exasperatedly, realizing what another person in the house meant.

Hanataro turned to her and laughed. "Laundry? If there's one thing I know, it's got to be laundry. How about if I take that over while I'm here?" Yuzu's eyes sparkled.

"Oh no, you're our guest!" she protested.

"Actually, he's a freeloader," Ichigo corrected her.

"You're our freeloader!" _I wonder if he can cook too?_

"I can cook well enough too," he replied, sounding extremely random to everyone but Yuzu.

"Want to help with dinner?" she smiled.

"Alright." he followed her to the kitchen. The light brown-haired girl took some pork, carrots, and potatoes from the fridge and the two set about preparing the stew. He actually seemed to have a good idea of what he was doing. As she stirred the good smelling soup, he looked around the kitchen, taking out several spices and teas.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He answered by lifting a tea kettle.

"I know of a tea that will go well with your soup." He made his beverage quickly by memory and poured some into the soup.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she asked.

"Try it," he replied as he set the table. She lifted a wooden spoon to her lips.

"Wow! It's perfect! How did you know to add the tea?" The soup now had a sweet yet spicy kick.

"Tea," Hanataro explained, "can do anything." They suddenly heard a knock at the door. Yuzu ran to open it.

There stood a worried looking, small teenage girl with wavy dark brown hair and green eyes. She wore a black and red striped t-shirt, black shorts, and red tights. Her feet were covered by black combat boots.

_It's that crazy girl from down the street,_ Yuzu thought. Hanataro wondered how this girl had been come to be known as the "crazy girl."

"Uh, hi Eriko... what's wrong?"

Eriko. Her name was Eriko. Hanataro stared at her.

"Is your father home?"She asked in a panicked voice.

"Y-yeah, I'll go get him. Come in," Yuzu invited. Eriko entered the house. _This whole family thinks I'm insane, _she thought. _But I guess I am._

"What's wrong?" Hanataro asked in a concerned tone when they were alone, also curious about her sanity.

"What? Oh. My father. He has the hangover of the century," she groaned. "This is the worst one yet." She looked tired, anxious, and on the edge.

"Oh! That's easy. Green Tea with ginger, egg yolk, garlic, and honey." The Ugokanais had a deep love for both alcohol and tea. Hanataro knew this recipe practically before he could walk.

"And that'll work?" she asked doubtfully.

"It hasn't failed before."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I really didn't want to have to talk to the Kurosaki family. They think I'm crazy you know. I'm Eriko Tobe. What are you doing here?"

"I'm kind of just staying here for a while," he said as he took the soup off the stove. "My name is Hanataro Yamada."

"'Hana'? As in flower?' A smile twitched on her lips.

"Exactly," he said, without an ounce of regret or hesitation. Eriko wondered at this, then suddenly got a faraway look in her emerald eyes.

"I should go. My father has hurled all over the couch. Again. Bye," she said in a dreamy voice. Then she slipped out the door. _Idiot, idiot! Why do you have to blurt out everything you see? CURSE THE TOBE CURSE!_

Yuzu appeared with Doctor Kurosaki.

Maybe this other Eriko was insane. She certainly seemed to be. But Hanataro for some reason, couldn't help thinking, _maybe she wasn't._

_Note: With a little bit of research, I kind of just made up Hantaro's hangover remedy. It probably wouldn't work in real life and probably tastes absolutely horrible._


	5. The Tobes

_Note: Thanks to all my readers so far! Please continue to comment! _

"Who was that?" Ichigo asked as he drained the soup from his bowl.

"Oh," Yuzu started, "Eriko Tobe. From down the street." He stared at her, then shook his head.

"What'd _she_ want?"

"Father. Drunk as always. Yuzu said she wanted something for his hangover," Doctor Kurosaki explained as he slurped up his dinner. He nodded to the most recent addition to the household. "I guess Hanataro over there sent her on her ditzy way."

All eyes turned to Hanataro, who wasn't used to much attention. "Um... I told her... about a tea recipe..." he said unsure.

"Because tea can do anything!" Yuzu exclaimed cheerfully.

"Can it make people mentally stable?" Karin interjected. "If it can, then the Tobes better start brewing."

"Karin! That's not nice!" her sister replied.

"That family," Hanataro suddenly spoke up, silencing the room. "What exactly..."

"Is wrong with them?" Ichigo finished. "Who knows, really? Mr. Tobe's mother used to live with them. She died a few years ago though. Man, she was the worst of them, always saying she could 'see all' or something." Karin snorted. Ichigo looked down at his empty bowl. "I used to kind of know Eriko, when I was little."

Hanataro tried to picture his serious, muscular friend as a young boy, and actually found it surprisingly easy. He saw him playing in a park in the grass with a little girl with big green eyes and a simple black dress. They giggled occasionally but had little to say. At this point, Hanataro realized he wasn't simply imagining anything, rather he was... seeing it. Seeing Ichigo's memories. He shuddered at this creepy discovery and tried to ignore the images flooding his mind.

"She used to be in my class, but she got this scholarship to some private all-girls' school. She was really smart. But she was weird too. Always randomly blurting out the randomest things in this sing-songy voice. I was kind of scared of her, actually."

Hanataro watched as the little pigtailed girl suddenly sat still and softly stated, "Your mother and my grandmother are looking for us. Your mother is worried you're lost." Little Ichigo widened his eyes then huffed.

"You... you don't know that!" He protested.

Little Eriko continued, "My grandmother is trying to calm her down. She knows exactly where we are." She smiled. At that moment, an old lady wearing a big sunhat with strange black flowers on it appeared with a beautiful woman practically in tears behind her. Hanataro guessed that would be Ichigo's mother, who immediately swooped the six-year old boy up in an emotional reunion. The seventh seat wondered what a mother's love felt like.

In real life, Ichigo continued. "I don't know the details of it, but I've heard rumors that she was mentally unstable and they've been thinking about putting her away."

Doctor Kurosaki nodded and rubbed his chin. "The father used to be like that as well. Maybe he still is, but these days he's more known for being a drunkard than anything else."

"Were you friends with Eriko?" Rukia asked Ichigo.

He shook his head. "I kind of remember meeting her in the park, but after that I decided to keep my distance," he shrugged.

"Wait, let me get this straight," Hanataro said. "The Tobes can, I mean _think _they can at least, see things that are happening... without actually seeing them?" The others around the table chuckled at his analysis.

"Yeah, sure. Total 'all-seers'. They all have an extra eye in the back of their heads!" Karin laughed. "By the way, Yuzu, this soup is really good."

The young girl grinned. "Hanataro helped! He put this tea in it, because tea can do anything. Dad, we should keep him! He's so smart!" The Fourth Squad member's face turned a shade of red as he smiled at Ichigo's sister, who was beginning to remind him of his Eri-chan in a way.

"Yeah, total genius," Ichigo grunted, recalling several not-so-proud moments in the life of Hanataro Yamada, who squirmed as he watched these events replay through his friend's mind. Just one of the fun benefits of his ever-increasing new skills.

The next morning, there was hot breakfast on the table and clean laundry in the hampers before any of the Kurosakis had even opened their eyes.

"Hanataro, when did you wake up?" Rukia wondered as she sat down.

"Oh, a while ago. I couldn't sleep," he happily slide some eggs onto her plate. In actuality, he had found Ichigo's dreams extremely disturbing and hadn't been able to stay in the same room as him while he slept.

"Yuzu looked down, "You swept the floor too!" She ran over to the surprised shinigami and thanked him with a warm hug. He blushed and handed her a cup of tea. "How many tea recipes do you know?" she asked in wonder, noting that this one was equally delicious, but completely different tasting from last night's.

"I can't really say," he responded

"Are you going to go to Ichigo's school?" she asked. "You're not wearing a uniform."

The previous night, it had been agreed that to find the Ugokanai quickly, his best bet was to scan the school quickly without a Gigai at some point and move on to other parts of the town. He shook his head.

"Nope. I really don't have time," he responded.

"Don't have time!" Doctor Kurosaki yelled. "What are _you_ busy with? You're only... how old?

Hanataro paused. It was only a month or ago he had "celebrated," as his fellow shinigami called spending the whole day making his life a living hell, his 150th birthday. "I guess... 15?" It seemed like a logical age to him, although he wasn't sure about the way World of the Living years worked.

"A boy of 15 has _centuries_ of time on his hands. You'll go to school and that's the end of it!"

"O-okay..." Immediately he recalled a most torturing six-year curriculum he had attended before becoming a part of Squad 4. Besides being a horrible warrior, he had absolutely no self-confidence or pride and therefore was beaten up by some other student at least once a day, and even more so when he somehow managed to show up a few future Squad 11 members at healing kido. Needless to say, he was not looking forward to his World of the Living education.

"But... I don't know anything about math! And what's an essay?" He desperately asked as Ichigo and Rukia tried to explain how school worked.

"It'll be fine, you'll see," Rukia answered sympathetically, remembering her first day of school. "But juice boxes are very advanced and you should hold off on attempting them for a while."

"Juice... boxes?"

"Just because you couldn't figure it out..." Ichigo began as they entered the school.

Meanwhile Eriko was having her own issues.

"Oh, honey, it's not Halloween. Let's not dress like a witch once in a while, alright?" A girl wearing enough pink lipstick for a small nation commented on Eriko's black accessories she wore with the standard light green uniform.

"And it's not Valentine's Day. So wipe all that gunk off your lips, would you?" She fired back, not even turning around.

"You... are such a freak." The lipstick girl turned on her heel and went to class.

She rolled her eyes and suddenly felt short of breath, like she would pass out at any moment. She sat down in a nearby bench and closed her eyes, knowing what she was getting herself into. This was the beginning of one of her strange visions, the ones that came by themselves bringing news of someone's despair. She didn't necessarily enjoy watching people scream in pain, but she knew she wouldn't feel better until she did.

So she watched a boy sitting in a classroom, seeming quite cheerful, which was odd to her. She couldn't remember getting a vision like this. Eriko reasoned that if he was in despair, he was doing a damn good job hiding it. The boy seemed familiar and she began to recognize him as the one with the very affective hangover remedy. Grateful not to have witnessed a murder halfway around the world, she walked into the classroom where everyone immediately looked away, glared at her, or snickered.

They all wore the same uniform, but something about her classmate's designer shoes and glossy lips said, "My nail polish is worth more than your entire house, peasant." She looked down at her black combat boots that _look_ rather witch-like with the green dress and fishnet gloves. Maybe she could ditch them and look more like the rest of them. A huddle of girls gossiped about how to destroy one of their friend's life. Eriko's red lips turned up in a tiny grin. Why would she want to be like them?


	6. The Beginning

The Beginning: These are two individual flashbacks to Eriko and Hanataro's childhood.

Eriko

"There is a reason for our curse, dear," the old woman took a plain black box down from a high shelf one day in June.

"Do NOT tell my daughter that old legend, mother!" Mr. Tobe growled from the kitchen. Eriko's grandmother winked at the wide-eyed nine-year-old girl. From the box, she took a bladed weapon, not much more than a dagger. A small, pure black, lethal looking thing.

"Hundreds of years ago, there were monsters. Monsters with gaping holes in their chests. There were two types: normal and invincible," she whispered. Eriko stared at the sword.

"Monsters?"

"They were really just souls with a little misfortune. The invincible monsters, they were our charges. We could pick up their energy quite easily before they did any harm. They radiated energy of despair for some reason, and that's why we could pick it up. but that power comes with a side effect."

"Mother, that's bullcrap!"

"You're in denial."

"BULLSHIT!"

"Don't curse around my granddaughter!" Mrs. Tobe turned back to Eriko. "You see dear? That's why we see people cry, get hurt, die. We soak up all miserable energy so if the Invincibles ever come back, we'll find them."

"And then... kill them?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that. This is the only weapon that can cut an Invincible."

"Is that why they're called Invincibles, Grandmother?" She ran her pale hand along the shiny blade. The old woman nodded.

"It was a two person job. One to find them. Another to take over their mind long enough for the first to slay it. After a while, there began to be less and less Invincibles. Those Ugokanai..."

"Ugokanai?"

"The mind-controllers, dear."

"There is NO such THING as an UGOKANAI!" They heard Mr. Tobe stomp upstairs.

"The Ugokanai believed they could take care of the Invincibles themselves. More power for them where they're from, I suppose. They had the technology to find them. They stole Dispair Daggers like this one"

"Did it work?"

Her grandmother held the dagger up to the light. " They couldn't focus on their enemie's mind and fight at the same time, dear. Their need for power and superiority is what nearly wiped them out. The Invincibles... I have never seen one myself. Perhaps there truly are no more."

"Will I ever see an Invincible... or an Ugokanai?" The girl asked eagerly.

"I doubt it, dear. The Despairers and the Ugokanai never let one slip by them. I believe the Invincibles naturally died out. As for what was left of the Ugokanai, they stayed in the place they came from. My grandfather was a Dispairer, you know. He used this very dagger. He always said the Ugokanai had skin as white as the snow and hair like the sunset. Of course, Despairers are not very common. No one believed any part of his story."

"I do! I believe your grandfather was a Despairer!" Eriko smiled.

"NO. YOU. DON'T!" from upstairs.

"I didn't believe him, sounded crazy to me," Mrs. Tobe whispered. "But when I was about sixteen, I was walking down the street and the strangest girl came up to me." She pointed to a painting above the shelf she had made herself. It was a portrait of a girl younger than Eriko, with a white and gold kimono, messy gold hair that stood out at odd places around the simple golden ring she wore on her head, and bright blue eyes. The little girl held a bouquet of small black blossoms. Eriko's grandmother was a fantastic artist.

"The girl was holding those flowers and gave them to me. She said she was an Ugokanai and I was a Despairer. Except I didn't know that made me special, which made her sad," the old woman shook her head. "Simply unreal. And then I believed everything my crazy old grandfather ever said."

Eriko looked at her in awe. "What about the little girl? What happened to her?"

"After she gave me the flowers she seemed very lost and scared. She ran off crying. She saw this boy wearing odd clothes and ran to him, telling him how sorry she was for running away. I remember he called her Eriko."

"That's my name!" The little girl next to her exclaimed.

"Indeed it is. Not a coincidence, at that."

"What happened to Eriko?" she giggled at using her own name.

"They disappeared. Through a magical door in the sky."

"No!"

"Swear on my life." She held up a wrinkled hand.

"But... I thought the Ugokanai didn't need the Despairers anymore."

Mrs. Tobe placed the dagger in her granddaughter's hands. "As long as there are Invincibles, an Ugokanai will always need a Despairer. One without the other is nothing."

"Can I be a Despairer, grandmother?"

Eriko's father stomped down the stairs. "If you can find an 'UGOKANAI' then you're a Despairer and I'm a PENGUIN!" He went out the door into the rain, slamming it shut.

Mrs. Tobe spoke gently. "He thinks we are all simply freaks doomed to be miserable. He doesn't believe the legend." Eriko looked down, not sure who to believe. The legend seemed crazy, but then again, weren't they all crazy to have all those weird visions anyway?

"But you know he's right," she took her granddaughter's hand in hers. "Alone, you are but a girl with a strange talent. But with a mind-controller at your side, you become a Despairer and he an Ugokanai."

"If the Invincibles ever come back, I..." She broke off as they both suddenly sat in horror as an image flashed through their minds. Next to a riverbank, a girl somehow attached to a horrible monster with a gaping chest. A boy with orange hair running towards the girl. "No... no... Ichigo don't go!" Eriko hissed, tears filling her eyes. She watched his mother try to stop him.

"A Normal..." her grandmother moaned. Ichigo reached for the girl, fell down unconscious.

"Ichigo!" Eriko squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out what was coming. She remembered that boy she met in the park. He was afraid of her, that she knew. She tried to be friendly, but then she would say something morbid out loud and he'd run away. As for the rest of the Kurosakis, they just thought the Tobes were mental cases. The monster grabbed Mrs. Kurosaki. Eriko wasn't sure how, but he was... sucking out her very soul it seemed. They watched in horror as he dropped her bloody body on top of her son.

"Grandmother!" she clung to the old woman, sobbing.

"That family... That poor boy. Poor woman," she murmured as they waited for the vision to end. It never did. They heard shouting from down the block. Eriko's father had seen it to, had gone to the Kurosaki Clinic.

"What can we do?" the little girl asked in a cracking voice.

Her grandmother looked down at one of her many black dresses. "Mourn, my dear. Slaying invincibles is no longer our role. Now we mourn and do what we can to warn." She hugged Eriko tightly.

For weeks, and months, and years, Eriko watched her neighbor suffer. What could see say? Sorry for your loss? Of course, she did say that, but it wasn't nearly enough. As years passed, Eriko saw many painfully deaths, but she never forgot that one on June 17th. The Despair Dagger looked more like a fancy cooking knife everyday. Her grandmother's Invincible-talk seemed more like old people jibberish. The night her grandmother's heart stopped beating, the painting of the first Eriko became simply a reminder of the delusional world Mrs. Tobe had turned to in order to deal with the pain that weighed them all down, as her father turned to alcohol. Eriko looked to art, painting the most gruesome images that entered her mind. She wore black to mourn the deaths she "witnessed." She took care of her father. She was not a Dispairer, there were no Invincibles, no Ugokanai, and no fairytales. Just a small, miserable world.

Hanataro

"Hana-Taro! Good morning_, _good morning!" The blonde girl bounced on the lavish pillows in her room as her assigned servant entered the room. He smiled at her pet name for him and set down her tray of breakfast. She looked out the window and grabbed his hand with her own white one. "Can I eat it outside? Look! The snow blossoms are pretty today!"

"That depends. Are you going to run off?" He asked the little girl, trying to brush her rumpled hair and get her looking presentable for the day.

"Nope, nope! I stay right with Hana-Taro like a good girl." she gave him a sincere grin. He led her down the shiny, golden hall and they passed Eriko's other siblings. Hydenori, who was Taro's age, Akane, a girl who was slightly older, and the oldest who looked like he was thirteen, named Mana. He looked down. He had to stay away from Ugokanai as much as possible, which was why he had been assigned to one specific one. If they discovered they couldn't read his thoughts...

"Good morning, Eriko," Akane said indifferently. The Ugokanai children weren't particularly loving, but the older ones enjoyed joining together to get what they wanted. Eriko was seen as the odd one, as she took no interest in forcing people to do what she wanted.

"Morning, Akane!" She called. "Are you all going to lessons?"

Mana nodded. "By today, I should be good enough to boss the servants around." he sneered.

"But we can do that already!" Akane reminded him.

"Yeah, but it's not as fun when they HAVE to do what you say. Too bad Hydenori won't know how fun that is."

"Hey!"

"Admit it! You're horrible at mind control!"

"I am not! I'll prove it," he looked at Taro, who was his height and actually looked a lot like him, besides the skin and hair color. _Bow down to me_, he heard in a hesitant voice in the back of his head, obviously Hydenori and probably the worst attempt he had ever encountered. Taro resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he got down on his knees to please him. He had never been tricked by the Ugokanai, but he knew enough to obey without question.

"You see! I'm great at this!"

"Yeah, whatever," Mana grunted, kicking Taro's head as he passed. The others copied him and headed to another room.

"You weren't fooled were you?" Eriko asked as Taro rubbed his head. "You never are," she whispered. "You just pretend. Why do you pretend, Hana-Taro?" he looked at her in alarm. If she knew, it was only a matter of time before word got out.

"Because it would hurt your mother." he responded. "Let's go out to the garden now." he tried to change the subject. Eriko didn't move.

"But my mama hurts you," she said sadly, touching his back gingerly. He winced. Taro was basically the source of the ex-Head Ugokanai's misery, and she didn't let him forget that. He vaguely remembered getting whipped so hard the night before he had fallen unconscious. He tried not to let Eriko know anything about it, but somehow she knew.

Out in the garden, Eriko ate his breakfast and rolled around in the fresh flowers, giggling. She ran over to a bush of light blue buds and yanked a handful off. She dashed back to Taro.

"Hana-Taro is special, but he doesn't know that!" she sang. Then she pouted. "It makes me sad."

Not sure what to say, as Eriko's declarations of people being special were always very mysterious, he shook his head.

"No Eri-chan, I'm not. I'm just your servant."

"But you ARE special. And one day you'll see... MR. SNOW!" she interrupted herself. "We have to visit Mr. Snow and give him some snow blossoms! Then he will remember he is special too! I hope he didn't forget!"

Taro groaned. Ever since the snow blossoms had come up, she had become obsessed with visiting this sullen white-haired kid she called Mr. Snow in the west Rukongai. He didn't mind the distance, but sneaking Eriko out of the estate was definitely an issue. Getting caught would mean almost certain death for him and a new servant for Eriko who wouldn't teach her like he did. And then maybe she would become like the rest of them.

"We'll go if we can have a secret lesson first," he said.

"Okay! I like secret lessons!" He looked around to make sure they were alone.

"Alright. Now what's the first rule?"

"The secret lessons are secret. I can't ever talk about them!"

"Right. Now what did you learn from the elders yesterday?"

Although she wasn't old enough now for proper training, the elders still plopped her in with the other children to get her used to the Ugokanai state of mind. "We are better than everyone else. We are super special." she declared, glad to have remembered something. "Is it wrong?"

He picked up a variety of flowers. He held up an orange one. "Is this flower special?"

"Super special!"

"Is it better than the other ones?"

She paused, and with a wide-eyed expression responded "No. They're all special. Why would the elders say we're the best?" Her eyes went misty.

"Because if they think they are, then everyone else will too."

"I don't! I'm the same special as you, and Mr. Snow, and everybody! Mr. Snow! We have to go see him now!"

Glad to have gotten his point across, he helped her gather snow blossoms, while reminding her to agree with whatever the elders said to avoid suspicion, but only to believe the lessons he taught her. If he knew anything about Ugokanai, it was that they were selfish, power-hungry people. He knew the minute he looked into his Eri-chan's eyes, he would _never_ let her turn out like that.


	7. The Mark

_Note: Ha! Back to the Present. Hope that little flashback added some explanations. I'm so thrilled to by the amount of attention this story has gotten, and I'd like to thank y'all for following, favoriting, and reviewing! I'll admit, I actually get really nervous before I read a review. This is literally my first fan fiction ever. I'm trying to update as often as possible! I keep getting sidetracked drawing art that goes with the story, mostly of Eriko because its fun to draw her clothes. Y'all can find some of it on deviantart. I'm under the same username. But, I've gone on too long, so back to Hanataro, Eriko, and the Ugokanai Clan! :D_

"No! Let me go! Please!" The giants crushed him harder against the wall with his giant fist. It wasn't that he wasn't used to the pain associated with a good punch in the face, but he was avoiding it at all costs.

"Hanataro. That's a cute name," The biggest of the three uniform-clad high schoolers sneered icilly. "Did your sister pick it out for you?" They began to laugh.

"Yes."

The giant paused for a moment, caught off guard before finally replying,"Even better!"

In about two seconds, the poor shinigami had blood pouring down from his nose. "Too bad your orange-haired friend isn't around! Ha ha!" _Look how pathetic he is! Just begging to be hit! That'll show them! I'm the toughest guy around, _he thought.

_Why? Because you can make a kid half your size bleed? Look at his face. Do you honestly think he gives a damn?_

The giant was curious as to why he had just thought this. It didn't seem in his manner at all, but nonetheless, he looked down at the dark-haired boy on the ground. His other friends were taking turns kicking at his ribs. There was no doubt he was in pain. He let out a high-pitched scream after each one, but his face seemed almost... neutral. Like this was simply an unavoidable inconvenience. This angered the giant. It wasn't fun anymore. No matter how hard they hit, he couldn't remove that look of indifference.

"Let's split! This is boring!" he announced. The other two grumbled agreements and rounded the corner of the school. Hanataro just lay in the grass. Bruised and beaten and bloody, but definitely alive. That was what mattered to him. But why hadn't they gone on longer? The biggest one's face had looked a bit fearful... What was scary about a small, scrawny boy with no concern for his own well-being?

He had always been interested in why people had fun harming him, and the answer was a some-what disappointment. It was to show people that he was the strongest. Plain and simple. For power. Wouldn't he make an excellent Ugokanai.

His blood ran cold. He had angrily yelled at the giant in his mind. But what if... what if it was the _giant's_ mind he had been talking to? Hanataro quickly stood up. No. There was no way. He couldn't do something like that. That would make him a... well, he just _couldn't _be.

"What happened to you?" Ichigo asked as he stepped into classroom. Not wanting to cause a scene, Hanataro cheerfully responded,

"Oh, I... fell down... stairs... that were steep...and...things."

"Stop falling down."

"I'm sorry."

Rukia decided to join the conversation. "I'm not the medic here, but... shouldn't something be done about your injuries?"

"It's not as bad as it looks! Really! I'm fine!"

The two shrugged as the lesson began.

_Well, they were a lot easier to convince than Eriko ever was. And she wasn't even old enough to tie her own sandals. _

After school was over, Hanataro decided to do some Ugokanai hunting before coming back to the clinic. He wondered aimlessly around the town, not knowing where to start. After hourse of getting painfully lost and going in circles, he decided to quit while he was ahead and try to find his way home.

And then, there it was. A spiritual pressure that was warm and comforting, like tea but not super sugary and artificial. It was hard to say what it was exactly, but he was going to find out. He followed the source, breaking into a run. He rounded a corner and promptly cracked his head against someone's skull.

"Ow! Ow! Oh, I'm sorry! Ow!" He sat on the ground rubbing his head, feeling a bump beginning to form.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry," A girl wearing a black t-shirt depicting a skull crying tears of blood with a knife going through it knelt across from him. "I-I don't even know why I was running to be honest... It was strange."

Trying not to let her creepy sense of style faze him, he took in the source of the strange spiritual pressure. Her green eyes, red lips that actually seemed to be natural...

"E-Eriko Tobe!" he exclaimed. Why hadn't he sensed this pressure the other day?

"Oh, Hanataro." She smiled warmly before frowning. "...How are you?" _If that vision from this morning wasn't a mistake of some sort, then he should be truly suffering in some way. But how? He seems so perfectly happy._

He was curious about the "visions" she was talking about. And suffering? Him? From what he could gather from her memories, she wasn't talking about the run in with the giant and his possy. Maybe she was crazy. Nonetheless, he stood up and offered her a hand. He pulled her up and she dusted herself off.

"Fine..." he replied.

"Okay, I know we hit each other pretty hard, but you look like you were just hit by a bus. What happened?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"I fell... down. In a painful way?"

"Sure..." She didn't seem convinced. "By the way, that recipe you gave me? It was horrible."

"Really? It always worked when-"

"No! It worked great! He was back to his sober self in no time!" she laughed. "Actually, his normal self is drunk... but never mind. It just tasted horrible."

"Oh," he responded, relieved. "I'm glad your father is alright.

"Me too," she said, remembering her past experiences with her father. He really did love her, but it was hard to tell when there was alcohol in his blood. To be honest, she kind of liked him better hungover and completely helpless.

Hanataro of course, heard this and wasn't sure what to say. "Uh, you live near Ichigo, right?"

"Yeah. Between you and me, I think he's kind of afraid of me." She said in a sad tone.

"I'm sure that's not-"

"A child is drowning, Straining for air. Why. Why don't they see him?" She turned white and grasped her head, shaking slightly, eyes rolled back in her head.

"Eriko?" He yelped in a frightened voice.

"His pulse... It's slowing!"

"Eriko!" He shook her by the shoulders. She blinked slowing and breathed deeply, complexion returning to normal.

"That. That's why he doesn't like me." She muttered as she stepped back. "I should go." _Great. Another person who will never look me in the eye again because I can't shut up. If I could just shut up about it... But I can't. Everyone I meet is going to hate me and I can't do anything about it._

"It seems like a strange reason to dislike someone," he interrupted her train of thought. "I mean, you can't control it, right? Whatever it is?"

"You should be slowly backing away now pretending to smile," she stated, confused. At least, that was what normally happened when she got a vision in public.

"I've seen odder things," he shrugged and began walking. She followed.

Her red lips turned up slightly. "Well, I was just heading home. I think I'll walk with you."

"Sure! I could use the company... Plus, I has no idea where we are," he admitted. "How was your day.

She snorted. "I work part-time at this craft store... And you know this four-eyed guy comes all the time, buying all this thread and fabric." She huffed and quickened her pace. "He thinks himself just the _expert_ at fashion and always has to comment about how _old_ the goth style is. So today I let him have it."

"What did you do?" She didn't seem particularly violent, but her shirt suggested otherwise.

"I took all the halloween stuff out of storage and replaced all his beloved fabric with it. His face. Priceless." She laughed.

After that, it was quite easy for Hanataro listen to her recall stories of revenge. All of them quite entertaining. He only hoped to never offend her. They soon arrived at her house. "Thanks for the company," she called as she stepped onto the porch, pausing at the door. "It was almost like having a friend."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I have never in my life had a friend, alright?" She said in a low tone before slamming the door shut.

"Hanataro, you didn't come home to help with dinner!" Yuzu pouted as he walked in.

"He has work to do, Yuzu, so stop following him around like a lost puppy." Ichigo called from the table.

""What kind of work?" She asked as she motioned for Hanataro to sit down.

"Oh, um... Medical things?" He improvised.

"Medical research," Rukia joined in.

"For the So-" Ichigo caught himself before saying Soul Society. "For Slovakia!"

"Slovakia?" Karin asked doubtfully. "Really?"

"It's the truth!" Hanataro smiled.

"It's the truth," she nodded in complete agreement and went back to eating. Her older brother looked at her oddly. The medic turned to Yuzu.

"I'll help you with the dishes in a little while, okay?"

She fidgeted at the mysterious edge in his voice. "But... aren't you hungry?"

He didn't answer, but rushed upstairs into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He looked at himself in the mirror. Basic light skin tone, black hair, on first glance he was definitely not related to the noble Ugokanai clan, but his eyes were the exact same color and he had the same nose as Eri-chan. He had always known his true identity. He had been trained to hide it. But this, this was impossible. No one even cared what he had to say, much less enough to do what he said. What had happened with Karin and that huge kid at school. He knew before he turned away from the mirror and untucked his shirt what was coming, but he didn't want to.

Hanataro slowly raised the back of the white shirt up to just below his shoulders, grimacing at the many scars, some were long, pale, and whip-like from Ugokanai Shiori, but those were easily covered by the huge burn scar that covered the majority of the right side of his back, permanent reminders of his past. Then, taking a deep breath, he flipped the rest of the cloth off his shoulders and confirmed all of his fears.

Among the rough, damaged skin, one patch was smooth and a very pale gold color. It was vaguely pinwheel or maybe flower shaped. It would be unclear to anyone else was the symbol was, but Hanataro knew it immediately.

The mark of the Ugokanai.

Only received by those who had successfully completed mind control.


	8. The Walk

"It's fun to have someone to do chores with! Ichigo and Karin aren't much for it," Yuzu explained as she passed a dripping plate to her newest friend, noticing he seemed a bit distracted.

He rubbed it dry with a dish towel. "Huh? Oh, yes."

She smiled. "I like having you here. It's like having another brother. Except not a strong one like Ichigo. But that's okay."

These exchanges with Ichigo's sister were always difficult for him. She reminded him so much of his Eri-chan. Sweet and innocent and pure. He thought about the mark on his shoulder, realizing it would be there today, tomorrow, and the rest of his life. Still, he wasn't an Ugokanai and he couldn't control people, so it didn't make sense for him to have it. He had been Ugokanai Eriko's servant and nothing more.

"You remind me of someone," he said absentmindedly.

She tilted her head, "I do?"

He nodded as he stacked a few plates. "A little girl I used to work for. I... I was very close to her."

"Why don't you work for her anymore?"

He turned away to put the plates in the cupboard. "She died," he replied. The air was tense for a moment.

"Oh, I... I'm sorry," she reddened. _Oh no! Now I've made him sad!_

"It's alright!" he reassured her. "It was a long time ago." It still felt like yesterday.

"I bet you miss her. Like we miss our mother," she sympathized.

He pulled the plug out of the basin's drain. "Every day," he said painfully.

*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

The following morning, he explained his findings to Ichigo and Rukia.

"What do you mean her spiritual pressure was odd?" the orange-haired teenager asked. "I've never noticed it."

"It's sort of like the Ugokanai's. Maybe that's why," Hanataro reasoned as they walked to school. The group heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Eriko Tobe walking a good distance away from them.

"Good morning, Eriko," Hanataro called. The small girl noticed Ichigo was avoiding eye contact.

"Oh. Hi," she responded as she caught up to them. She was wearing a light green dress that she seemed uncomfortable in. Pastels weren't really her thing. "I'm helping with an art show our school is putting on. So I'm going early."

"That sounds interesting. Are you entering anything?" Hanataro kept the conversation going, despite Ichigo's mental growls to stay away from the crazy girl. Rukia was attempting to sense any difference in her spiritual pressure.

"No," she shook her head. "Sometimes it's not a good idea to put yourself out the there, if you know what I mean."

They continued to chatter in a way that was extremely annoying to Ichigo for some reason. He finally snapped.

"Alright, what's up with you?" he pointed an accusing finger at Eriko, who crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation. "You're always all weird and morbid and now you're acting all normal!" his voice rose. "What? Did you finally give up crawling for attention with that fortune-telling stuff?"

Eriko glowered.

"You think I MADE IT UP?" she hissed belligerently. "FOR ATTENTION?" She stepped toward him, looking him dead in the eye. "Stop acting so tough. I know you're afraid of me."

"I've seen some crazy stuff but a little girl spewing things like blood and murder takes the cake. How was I supposed to know you could drop the act?" he shot back.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe, you could have gotten over it and talked to me like a normal person and found out for yourself instead of relying on ONE childhood encounter and a bunch of rumors?" She snapped. "I DO magically have the capability of holding a normal conversation, which is why I can talk to a _decent_ person like Hanataro but not to jerks like you."

"Oh _I'm_ a jerk?"

"Ichigo..." Rukia attempted to remind him that Eriko was a tiny high school girl and not a dangerous enemy.

"Acceptance is the first step toward change!" she said sweetly. He looked like he was about to bite her head off.

"Eriko I wouldn't..."

"They're too far gone," Rukia whispered to Hanataro. It seemed their attempts a refereeing would be ignored.

"Look, I don't know your story, but you don't know mine so I suggest-"

"What don't I know, Ichigo? How your mother died? How you run around in a black uniform with a giant knife? What exactly don't I know?"

They all stared at her.

"What are you?" he narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?" He grabbed the collar of her dress.

"That's for me to know and you to wonder." She twisted away and turned down a different street.

The group stood still as they watched her go.

"Believe him now, Ichigo?" Rukia asked.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#**#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

"I don't know, Hanataro. He's still mad at me, and I'm not so thrilled with him at the moment either," Eriko played with the chains hanging from her black jeans. She always changed as soon as she got to the craft store. The two were on their usual route home several days later.

"But you're neighbors after all. I'm sure he'd like to make up. Unless you don't want to. That's perfectly fine." No he wouldn't. His mind was still muttering about the whole exchange.

"It's not a good idea. Besides, I have my father to look after." Hanataro had been trying to persuade her to make up with Ichigo, having a feeling she might be of use to them concerning the Ugokanai. For that reason, he had invited her to dinner at the Kurosaki residence. He was trying to control his new skill, but wasn't sure how and consequently ended dissuading her more than anything.

"He could go to your house. But he doesn't have to. You have complete control over this situation." he stammered.

"Jeez, you'd be a horrible salesperson," she laughed, shaking her head. _He's acting strange. I wonder what it's about?_

"Eriko, how do you know about Ichigo?"

"His mother was killed by this monster thing," she said softly. "I saw it."

"Y-you can see Hollows?"

"Is that what they're called? How much do _you_ know?" she asked suspiciously.

Hanataro paused, wondering how much to give away. "He fights them. Ichigo I mean."

She nodded. "I thought so. I bet he's good at it. That other girl too, right? With the black hair?" He knew he wasn't supposed to be telling he these things, but she seemed to have it pretty well figured out herself, so he just nodded and let her keep talking. "So wait, how do you know about all this... this weird stuff?"

"Um... like you? I guess I just figured it out as I went." She may know about Ichigo and Rukia, but he wasn't going to give away anything she didn't already have.

She shook her head. "I still can't believe he thought I was faking it. Who on earth would CHOOSE to be a freak?"

"What exactly do you do, Eriko? He said something about seeing things..."

She shrugged. "You remember that day I went off my rocker?"

He nodded.

"I just... I see hopelessness. Despair. Not all the time, just flashes here and there. More or less once a day. It's kind of why I dress like this." She made a sweeping gesture across her outfit, which was red, black, and metal. "I guess I'm crazy, but at least the people in the black uniforms are real. And the monsters." she brightened. "That means I was right and my psychiatrist was wrong! Ha!"

"Eriko, you're not crazy."

"Don't worry about it. I know I am. I'm used to it."

"But you're not! It's just that... your mind picks up on things other people's can't. Like... if someone could read minds." Of course. He just _had_ to use an example.

She raised an eyebrow. "Mind readers, eh? My grandmother used to tell these crazy stories about mind readers."

"R-really?"

"Mmhmm. A whole flock of them. What'd she call them? Ugokanai. Yeah. Crazy, right?"

"Crazy..."

Just then, a group of girls wearing the same uniform Eriko had been wearing earlier minus the black accessories approached them. "This oughta be good," Eriko muttered under her breath.

"Nice to see you, as always, Tobe. I see you made yourself a friend. And by that I mean you literally made one. In a cauldron. With spells and potions."

"Because we all know that's the only way witches like you can make friends," another continued.

'Really? witches like me?" Eriko snarled, but the shinigami beside her could tell this was a daily battle in which she was severely outnumbered and alone in. It really didn't seem fair.

"I'm interested to know," he spoke up, mustering all his courage, "how the hell bitches like _you_ can make friends."

Eriko was startled by his choice of words.

"What the HELL did you just call us?" The one that seemed to be the leader of the pack and probably the biggest bitch out of the lot stared him down. "Because you know my father owns pretty much this entire town right? I can have your parents unemployed and your whole family out on the street just like that." she snapped her pink fingernails.

"Then it works in my favor for once that my family is dead," he responded in a way that was dark and unlike him.

"we'd love to stick around, but I have dinner to go to and I don't want to be late," Eriko smiled.

Once there was enough distance between them, she excitedly slapped his arm. "I CANNOT believe you of all people did that!"

Hanataro reddened. "Well, I guess... I had to. We're friends after all. Unless... we're not. Are... we?"

She giggled and nodded, then suddenly wrapped him in a giant hug, nearly suffocating him. "And the lack of self-confidence returns! Whew, I was afraid you'd suffered a personality change back there."

Not sure what he was supposed to do, as he hadn't been hugged since... well, the _first_ Eriko, he let her cut off his oxygen until she suddenly pull away. "Wait! Is your family really...? Or did you make that up?"

"No, it was the truth. We better get going. I promised Yuzu I would help her with dinner tonight."

Eriko didn't want to pry. "...Yeah. Okay."

_Note: LOL I laughed so hard trying to imagine those words coming out of Hanataro's mouth because, well let's face it. He could be a saint. XD _


	9. The Dinner

_Note: Oh my God this chapter I wanted to stab it at times. It requires so much rewrites and editing because no matter what it never sounded right to me. One of the problems I realized was that at this point, Rukia is serving absolutely no purpose, therefore, I just wrote her out of the story with little explanation. Oh well, that's how I roll. Back to the story! XD_

"No. No way. Get out," Ichigo crossed his arms the minute they walked in the door.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Eriko shot back.

"This is my house. I'll damn well tell you what to do."

"Well I was invited!"

"HANATARO!"

"I-I'm sorry! I thought maybe-" the medic trailed off awkwardly and went into the kitchen to find Yuzu. "I-I have to make dinner, so... don't kill each other... okay?"

""We'll see," Eriko muttered under her breath.

Throughout the meal, she and Ichigo did nothing but stare each other down across the table.

_Look at that punk, eating my food. Sitting in my chair. Acting like she owns the place._

_ What the hell is his problem? I see pain. Why is that so hard to believe? The kid sees GHOSTS for God's sake._

_ She won't stop staring at me. I bet she's plotting how to kill me with those little voodoo doll things or something creepy like that._

_ He probably thinks I'm some wanna-be witch. _

_ I can play this game all night. _

_ ANNOYING JERK!_

_ CRAZY CREEP!_

_ JUST GO TO HELL!_

_ GET OUT OF MY DAMN HOUSE!_

Hanataro just couldn't bear the thought of this peaceful meal ending.

The rest of the household stayed relatively quiet, although Yuzu, rationalizing that if Hanataro had brought the green-eyed girl to the home she couldn't possibly be a bad person, tried to find out more abiut her strange neighbor.

"How is the private academy, Eriko?"

"The worst."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Um, how is your father?"

"He's not home yet. I don't know."

"Oh, I see. You paint, don't you? I sometimes see you painting at the window when I walk by."

"Yeah. I paint."

"What do you paint?"

_Blood, demons, death, _she thought. "None of your business."

"...I... see..." Both felt quite uncomfortable.

"Weren't they supposed to put you away?" Karin blurted out in a bored tone.

Eriko took a long sip of tea and looked down at her cup. "I can't trust my father on much, but I can trust that as long as he needs me around, I'm not going anywhere." She looked at Ichigo. "Sorry to disappoint you."

You could have cut the tension in the room with a butter knife.

Hanataro and Yuzu were thinking along the same lines when they both jumped up to clear the table before his whole intention for the event was destroyed. "Oh wow, it looks like everyone's done! Let me just take these plates..."

"Oh, I'll wash them, you better stay with Ichigo and Eriko. They have issues with each other," the light-brown haired girl whispered as they carried the dishes into the kitchen.

"You have no idea."

Getting the two neighbors up Ichigo's room to have a civilized conversation was about 180,000 times easier said than done. So involved with the evening's events, Hanataro hadn't realized Rukia hadn't been there, though he later found out she had been called backed to the Soul Society. Although, it would have been nice to have a little help with the Ichigo/ Eriko issue.

"Look," the orange-haired boy began. "There better be a damn good reason Crazy McCreep is in this house."

"Don't call me that, _ghost boy._"

The poor medic was at the end of his rope as he rubbed his temples. "Look. You two are neighbors, right? I understand that you don't get along, but for the love of everything good in this world, can you _please_ just start over?"

Eriko glared at him. "No. Why does it even matter? Can't we just go back to ignoring each other? And how is this any of your business?"

"Yeah!" For once, the two agreed on something.

"Ichigo, you can't see it as well as me, but you have to admit, Eriko has some... differences."

She crossed her arms. "What's _that_ supposed to mean? You're the one who said I wasn't insane." He sighed this was obviously going to take a lot more explaining.

"You're not. You have really rare abilities. And you can see shinigami. But I think there is something else... you've heard of Ugokanai."

"What?" the orange-haired boy interjected. He looked at the girl in black across the room. "how? You're... you're just a human."

"Yeah well, NEWSFLASH! You kind of are too!" She turned to Hanataro. "You're making fun of me aren't you? I don't believe those dumb stories, you know. They're not real."

"Well, actually, Eriko... That's kind of why you're here. You see, they sort of are... or were."

"Are you telling me there are actual people running around controlling invincible monsters' minds?"

"Oh, so now she knows about the Invincibles too? This is making less and less sense..."

"For the record, I only know about Invincibles and Ugokanai because my grandmother talked about them."

"And where did she hear about them?"

"It's kind of an old family legend. That apparently is a little bit more than a story."

"I-Is there more to this... legend?" Hanataro asked hesitantly.

She suddenly became very guarded. "Why? What's it to you? It's just a dumb story. That you two seem highly interested in for some reason."

Hanataro realized there was no other way to explain. "I though you might be able to help us somehow. We have a bit of a problem. The Invincibles are back. Every single Ugokanai is gone."

Her emerald eyes became as large as saucers. "Nah. You're joking right?" The serious look in their eyes told her none of this was fiction. She slumped against the wall, feeling a bit nauseous. "We. Are. All. Screwed," she muttered. "Do you have any idea what you're dealing with?"

"That's our issue. No," from Ichigo.

"If," she swallowed. "If my grandmother was... was right about... everything, then those things... can't be stopped. Maybe you'll find a Despairer, but without an Ugokanai..."

"What's a Despairer?" Ichigo turned to the dark-haired shinigami in case he knew about it. Hanataro just shrugged.

"I've never heard of it."

"Oh," Eriko said. "They're a pretty much a died out race, I think. I'm not even sure if they're real to be honest. They fought Invincibles with Ugokanai hundreds of years ago. They found the Invincibles and cut them down."

"How do you know this?" he asked, perplexed by the new information. It must have been a long time ago, because the Ugokanai had never mentioned a partner. By the time he was born, they barely fought at all, and when they did, it was alone.

She hugged her knees to her chest. "I think my ancestors were Despairers," she whispered.

"Let me guess. That's why you have those weird vision things." Ichigo said softly.

"I guess it would make sense..."

"Wait, if you are one of these Despairers and they cut down Invincibles, then can't _you_ fight them?" Ichigo began to smile, feeling as if maybe they had hit a stroke of luck.

Eriko grunted. "Not a chance." His spirit immediately deflated. "Sure, I have a Despair Dagger, but the thing is, The Invincible literally has to _allow_ you to kill him. Otherwise, it's useless. But that's not to say _we_ are useless. Without Despairers, Ugokanai are pathetic."

"A Despair Dagger, is it a small black sword?" Hanataro asked. He saw the picture perfectly in her mind, and it was very familiar. Although he had yet to see one in action, they were a pain to polish.

"...yeah. How'd you know that?"

"He used to work for them. Kinda why he's here."

"Really?" Her eyes filled with interest. "Is their skin really white?"

"Like paper," he replied. "Eriko, if we could find an Ugokanai, could you help us?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ichigo interjected. "So she can find these Invincibles. That's great, but we're not going to expect her to _fight_ are we? She's never even wielded a sword."

Eriko stood up. "I've cut vegetables LOTs of times. Look, this could be the end of the world for all we know. This stuff is in my blood. This is my responsibility." She crossed her arms. "Let's find me a control freak."

"Hanataro, we are not sending a completely untrained high school girl into a battle against the supernatural."

"I can train!" she insisted. "What other options do you have, exactly?" The tall high school student was silent.

"I know she doesn't seem like much of a warrior," the Squad 4 member began hesitantly, looking over the petite, goth-clad brunette, "but it really explains the strange spiritual pressure. Maybe she can help us more than we thought."

"What do you mean 'spiritual pressure'?" she asked, confused.

"You give off a certain... energy that I've never come across before. It's sort of like the Ugokanai's except it's less... forceful. More calming. I didn't notice it when we met, because there was tea brewing, and it's almost exactly like tea. You know, the feeling."

She thought it over and nodded. "I think I know what you're talking about." _That's it! That's what that strange feeling I get when he's around is like. I wonder if I should say something about it..._

"Well I'm sure you want to go home and think about your life so it was nice having you and we'll talk soon! Okay?" Hanataro spoke rapidly and he practically pushed Eriko down the hall and out the door, not wanting her to saying anything she was thinking, although he couldn't avoid it. She was planning to ask him about it the next day.

Everyday it got more and more complicated trying to stay normal. The more he tried to block out the foreign thoughts, the louder they became. He was a master of going unnoticed, and he prayed it would stay that way.


	10. The Crash

_Note: I can't think of anything else to say except this chapter pretty much wrote itself. Enjoy! :)_

"No, ma'am, it's fine that this is the tenth time you've called today, but like I said, you absolutely can_not_ go skiing if you are eight months pregnant... Yes I understand you were looking forward to it. Oh, please stop screaming! I _suppose _abortion is an option, but... th-that's a bit extreme don't you think? Oh, you'll call back in a few minutes? Lovely... um, bye."

The medic was glad there were no phones in the Soul Society, otherwise Squad 4 would be a nightmare. He had agreed to answer the phone for the clinic the next day, and was finding that many humans were almost as crazy as some of the captains.

"No, this is not a veterinarian clinic!" he answered desperately before setting the phone back down. In between calls, he was filling out paperwork that was surprisingly similar to what he was used to. The phone rang again. He sighed and picked it up.

"Kurosaki Clinic. How can I help you?"

"Hanataro?"

"...Eriko?" He wondered why she would be calling.

"Hi... so I was looking through my grandmother's stuff to see if I could find any more information and I found... this painting."

"...Okay?" He had no idea what this had to do with him.

"Just... just come over. Like, right now. This is really weird."

He quickly explained that he had to leave and head to the neglected yellow house where his friend lived that was in great need of a new coat of paint. The wooden stairs on the porch creaked under his feet. He knocked on the door. Eriko answered it, looking extremely unnerved about something. There was dust on her tiny nose, evidence of her search through old boxes and such. Her hair was tied back, which was unusual for her. Usually, her dark wavy hair fell into her eyes, shielding her face from the outside world.

"What is it?" he asked. She pulled him into the dim hallway and closed the front door. There was a strong smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol in the living room and the furniture seemed old and worn out, although the floor shined and there wasn't a speck of dust on the shelves.

"C'mon. I left it in my room." She led him up the narrow stairs. "I'm sorry about the house. I try to keep it clean, but it still looks horrible because everything is broken."

"Don't worry about it," he responded cheerfully, knowing the responsibilities of the household must fall to her. They reached a small room at the end of the hall. He gasped when he saw the inside. All four walls contained a mural of a gray and black forest. The trees, although free from color, still seemed alive. Black flowers dotted the ground, and the sky was a wash of constant night.

"Y-you did this?" The walls were expertly done, no way were they the result of a high school student. And the forest, it was so familiar to him it was scary. It was an exact replica of his spirit world.

"Yeah. This place. It keeps popping up in my dreams. I never knew why, but I liked it. It's kind of sad and lonely, but pretty and cheerful in its own way."

He nodded, having the same feelings for the place, although curious why she would also be familiar with it. "So what was the thing you needed to show me?"

She pointed to the corner of the room. A medium-sized picture frame leaning against the wall. _It has to be him, _she thought. _But why? It doesn't make sense._

He approached it, trying to make out the shapes in the dim light. Only a single lightbulb burned above them. He lifted it up and wiped away some of the grime. He gasped as he revealed two faces he knew well.

It was a street corner in a busy city, yet all other figures were blurred but the two in the center. A small girl with white skin, golden hair, and tearful eyes. A boy who looked to be about eleven depicted with blue-black hair, and holding his arms out to girl in the golden kimono.

"I knew it. You do know something about it. That kid, he looks just like you." She knelt beside him on the floor.

He held the frame, shakily responding, "That... is me."

"But it was almost sixty years ago!"

"Yes..."

"I knew there was something odd about you," she replied suspiciously. "You just knew way to much." He squirmed uncomfortably. "What about the girl?" she asked.

"Ugokanai... Eriko."

"I was named after her." She said softly. "She... gave flowers to my grandmother."

"I remember," he answered, closing his eyes, remembering the panic he had gone into when she wen missing one morning and the sweet relief when they were reunited. He wondered how a painting could capture such a moment so perfectly.

"It's real. It's all real," Eriko realized. "The first Eriko, she wasn't like the others... was she?"

Hanataro grinned sadly. "No. Not my Eri-chan."

"You said they all were dead."

"Yeah."

She looked down. "I'm sorry. W-were you there when it happened? How did it happen?"

Still staring at the frame, he tried to answer, but couldn't find the will. That day was so unfair and tragic and horrible he had buried it forever. "The palace. It burned down. I was there."

"Oh," she whispered, barely audible.

Eager to get off the topic, he set down the painting. "Um, did you find anything else? Any journals or letters maybe?"

"No," she muttered. "Just a bunch of old art magazines." She nodded to another corner, where several stacks sat on a scratched up desk. "Of course, I could keep looking. There's still a closet I haven't gone... through." On the last few words, her voice weakened. All color drained from her face. She sat motionless, eyes flickering with confusion and fear. Hanataro found that unlike the first time, he could watch the horror film unfold with her.

There was a blue van, the front completely crushed into a streetlight. That was all. People were beginning to gather around the sight, calling for help. And then it was if a camera had zoomed in and he was seeing the demolished inside of the car. A man's head was bleeding profusely, the rest of his body horribly mangled. his green eyes wide open and clouded. No doubt. He was dead.

"Eriko..."

The small girl bolted up and sped down the stairs, shaken from sharing her vision, he followed closely behind. She ran out the front door, breathing heavily as she furiously turned street corners and nearly got hit by various vehicles. Throughout all this she didn't say a word. But he knew why she was tearing down the sidewalk. She thought it loud and clear. The man they saw had been her father.

By the time she finally stopped, the police, fire department, and ambulance were already there, trying to remove the body from the crushed metal.

"Papa," she whispered, tears flowing down her pale cheeks. "THAT DRUNKEN IDIOT!" She screamed as she crumbled to the ground, burying her face in her knees. Knowing what it was like to loose a family member so suddenly, Hanataro knelt down next to her, unable to formulate words. There was nothing he could say. She was completely alone now. She didn't want to hear empty words anyway.

He looked up, and was surprised to see a soul attached to the recently recovered body.

"Hey you punks! Be careful with me!" He shouted at the paramedics. The soul was a normal-sized man with longish dark brown greasy hair, bloodshot eyes, and a wrinkled, mean-looking face covered in stubble.

The shinigami nudged his friend gently. "Eriko, he hasn't left yet." She lifted her tear-stained face and followed the sound of the shouting that was so familiar to her.

"P-papa?" She called unsure. He whipped around to face her. Immediately his face softened.

"Eriko? What- what happened to me?" He looked at his translucent hands. He looked at the chain connecting him to his body. "What did I do?" The guilt of leaving his daughter alone overwhelmed him.

She slowly stood up and went to him, fighting through the crowds, but held back by a policeman.

"Please stay back, honey," he stated. She gave him a cold look.

"Hell no. That is my father, you SLUDGEWAD!"

He sighed and let her through. Hanataro tore out of his Gigai and dumped it behind some bushes, not wanting anything to happen to it. He weaved past law enforcement officials until he was right next to Eriko and the soul in question.

"Y-you're one of them?" She whispered to him, completely astonished. "Like Ichigo and Rukia and them?"

He nodded. "One of our jobs is to send soul to where we're from. The Soul Society."

"Yeah. Yeah you're one of those guys," he sneered, looking at his uniform. "Whatcha want? You wanna take me from my daughter?" He grabbed the medic by his collar.

"I-I have to sir! You could turn into a Hollow! You could kill Eriko for all we know!" He released him and took a step back. She looked at her father sadly.

"You were drunk weren't you? How could you? Idiot!" she turned away. He tried to place his hand on her shoulder, but found it passed through.

"No. No, Eri, I wasn't. Well, actually I was... But that's not how it happened! I-I just sort of stopped breathing. My heart stopped beating. And then the car crashed. Eriko... I'm sorry." It seemed impossible, but the gruff man's eyes became cloudy with tears. "You always took care of everything. And I did nothing. God, how many times I hurt you... Now this. I wish I could have... been better."

She looked at him, face peaceful and quiet. "Me too. But that's not how things turned out. But I love you, Papa. I do."

He smiled slightly. "Yeah. I love ya too, kid." She wiped away the streaks on her cheeks and stepped back, nodding to her friend to give her consent.

He unsheathed his zanpakuto and quickly preformed a soul burial. Mr. Tobe's soul disappeared, smiling for perhaps the first time in years. Eriko stared at the spot he had once been in and glanced at his bloody body. A few drops of rain began to fall, quickly gaining speed to a full-out downpour. The teenage girl ripped herself away from the scene and walked away, slowly, not caring how soaked she was getting.

Hanataro quickly put his Gigai back on and followed after her from a distance. She seemed fine. Her thoughts were peaceful as her manner, bu something wasn't right.

He was correct. A few blocks later, and she suddenly collapsed from the weight of her own sorrow and lonely existence and curled up in a tight ball in the middle of the street. Concerned, he rushed to her side. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her breaths were deep and ragged. His friend would never make it back home. Therefore, he scooped her up in his arms, strengthend by a lifetime of labor, and carried her the rest of the way.

It reminded him of carrying Ugokanai Eriko through the flames years ago. Except this time, there was no rush, just the cold miserableness of the rain and the events of the day to slosh through.


	11. The Unchapter

Hey Y'all, I'm back with an "unchapter". I'm working on the next installment of the epic tale of mine, but its going kinda slow due to an immense amount of homework my teachers have forced upon me. :/

I've gotten pretty far into the story now, and I'd say I'm about in the middle, like the end of the beginning or something like that. So at this point I really want to get some feedback on the story so far. What you like, what you hated, what you think is going to happen, any questions you have for me, that kind of thing.

Well, hope y'all continue reading and commenting. I love to hear what y'all think! So review! Even if you don't have an account, just do it!

Love and Glitter,

spiffyglitterXD


	12. The Invincible

She snuggled down deeper into the warm quilts around her, savoring the blissful moment just before one wakes up. Sighing with contentment, especially since she hadn't had any freak show nightmares, she finally stretched and opened her eyes, expecting to see early morning light coming in through her bedroom window. Instead, she was momentarily confused to find herself on the old couch in the living room and the sky outside pitch black.

Eriko sat up as she quickly remembered what had happened. What she didn't know what how she had gotten home. She remembered the moment it had really hit her. That her father was really gone. She was completely alone. And for some reason, she just couldn't take it. Maybe it was like when she tried to reject a vision for too long and she passed out. But how did she get home?

The petite girl looked around her house. What would happen to her? Without her father's need for her help, would they just send her off to the looney bin to rot? Or if she did stay, where would she live? Certainly she couldn't afford to keep the house. Did her father even have insurance?

She wrung her hands as she went through the many unanswered questions, afraid for the future. She began to detect a sweet, soothing aroma. She followed the scent into the kitchen where she was met by a kettle of tea warm on the stove.

_Hanataro_, she realized, smiling slightly as she lifted the kettle and poured a cup. The fact that it was warm implied that it had been made not long ago. The liquid caught in her throat as tears brimmed her eyes, feeling not so alone as she once did. She walked back into the living room and paused as she approached the portrait of Ugokanai Eriko. She absentmindedly ran her fingers along the paint strokes.

What connection did he have to this girl? There was no doubt now that he was a... what did they call it? Shinigami. A death god. Eriko couldn't help smiling at this title as it didn't suit her timid friend well at all.

She recalled he had mentioned he used to work for these strange white-skinned people. He seemed to care about the young girl a good deal. And now she was dead. All of them were officially. Had his family been killed along with them? She shook her head. She didn't have all the answers and now wasn't the time to assume anything. She looked at the long black box beside the painting. She couldn't be too careful these days either. For the first time in years, she took it down and pulled out the small weapon created for one purpose only. The box also contained a small black velvet sheath made to conceal the knife so it could be carried at all times. She put the dagger in and tied dutifully around her waist. Maybe she was a Despairer, and maybe it was time for her to step up to the plate.

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"Let me get this straight," Ichigo mumbled as he turned to face his neighbor after slicing clean through a low-level Hollow's head. "You want _me _to train you?"

She nodded. "Well, you seem to know what you're doing..."

"It's different. No matter how much power I have, I'm no teacher_." _he shook his head. "Wait, are you okay? What happened yesterday... Hanataro told me. I'm sorry, Eriko. I know. It's hard." his face was etched with concern.

"It would have happened eventually. I knew he was going to get himself in trouble one day, more than usual," she shrugged, although her voice was a bit choked up. "But I can't help thinking about what he said. He claimed he... I don't know. Just died at the wheel. Before the crash."

They began to walk home. "Yeah, he said something about that. You probably weren't thinking about it, but he said there was something else."

"Something else?"

"Your father's body, according to Hanataro, seemed to have encountered an extremely powerful Ugokanai-like energy."

She stopped and turned towards him. "Are you saying an Ugokanai killed my father?"

"Well... we can't exactly rule it out. At least we know they're still around now. Based on what little I know, those people are insane and will do anything for power. Including killing off any competition."

"_Competition_?" She exclaimed. "We're meant to work together. There's no competition! Jeez, they really are messed up. Even now, when the world needs them they're worried about _competition_." She shuddered with disgust. "Wait, my grandmother. The doctors never could find an actually reason for her death. They just kept saying things like 'It was her time," but do you think maybe...?"

"There's a chance. But it doesn't make sense. How can you just make someone die? And if they did... Eriko, you might be next."

Frightened, but determined not to show it, she steadily replied, "What can I do?"

He gave her a reassuring grin. "I don't know. Let's find out."

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"... And I want to do my part," the petite girl finished as the strange man in the striped hat examined the dagger.

"I see," he replied thoughtfully. Eriko noticed two children and a tall, burly man putting up a wall behind them. The whole place was demolished and she wondered what had accomplished this. She wasn't aware of any recent natural disasters. The man turned to Ichigo and Hanataro. "You've brought a strange girl into a strange situation. How fitting. Yes, according to what little records we have, this weapon was used to break up the armor-like energy surrounding the Invincible." He pointed to a partially-torn page in an aged book. It depicted a drawing of a small black knife. "But there is no mention of any humans with odd abilities. It seems this type of dagger was always wielded by an Ugokanai."

"Well your books are wrong," she countered, crossing her arms. "I don't care what the Ugokanai kept a secret or told you all but they... we existed."

"I don't doubt it, dear, but I wonder why the Ugokanai were so intent on keeping their partners from us."

"W-well, if anyone knew about them, wouldn't they have to share any power they achieved with the Despairers?" The black-haired shinigami questioned from his seat across the table.

"Selfish jerks," Eriko huffed.

"Yes, yes. Selfish, haughty, power-hungry jerks we loved to hate before the Ugokanai Takeover," Urahara mused.

"Whaddya mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh there were many rumors about the Ugokanai among the shinigami and nobles. Particularly Ugokanai Shiori. So many theories concerning her sudden removal from Head Ugokanai status." He noticed Hanataro look down uncomfortably.

"But that's irrelevant. The important thing is that we have become one step closer to cracking this case," he continued. "By the way, Miss Tobe, in regards to your request for training, I'm afraid I would be of little use, as I am not familiar with the tendencies of the Invincibles."

"Oh," she seemed disappointed.

"I wonder though, if Mr. Yamada could be of any service."

"B-but I'm not an Ugokanai! I barely know anything about them!"

At that moment, they all jumped up, sensing a Hollow's spiritual pressure nearby. Ichigo pulled out of his Gigai and hurried off. Urahara, sure that the boy could handle the average Hollow sat back down. Eriko and Hanataro remained standing, faces turning to stone as they both realized what their orange-haired friend was about to confront. They turned to each other, and without a word, rushed after him.

"ICHIGO! NO!" Eriko caught sight of him too late. He was already pointing his zanpakuto at the white Hollow in front of him, who only smirked.

"Go ahead, boy. Take your best shot," it laughed in an icy voice. "Or maybe listen to the little girl and run while you can!"

Ichigo turned to the two. "W-wait, is this thing one of those-"

"Invincible! Haha, so you've figured me out, have you, little girl?" He looked at Eriko, who glowered back. "Hmm... An Ugokanai, you are not. It seems I have come across a Despairer. How delicious." He licked his enormous fangs. "But where are your hated Ugokanai? That's right. DEAD! Just like you all will be."

The substitute shinigami took a flying leap and brought his zanpakuto down on the Hollow's head. The monster laughed as he seemed to be zapped with black-colored electricity. Ichigo crashed to the ground, still writhing with pain.

"Ichigo!" The brunette Despairer ran to his side. He ceased moving and appeared to be unconscious.

"That's what happens when pathetic shinigami mess with Invincibles, _boy_," the Hollow said menacingly. "Useless you are!"

Hanataro's medical instincts took over as he sprung into action and jumped out of his Gigai and took off the Squad 4 bag, hoping to aid his friend who was out cold.

"Hanataro," Eriko whispered as they sat side by side while the Invincible laughed. Her voice was shaky and her thoughts dire. "What the hell are we going to do? Even if I had training... I'm useless. If only we had had time..." He looked at her, unable to answer. If only the palace hadn't burned down. If only he had been able to do something. He had always known he was useless. He wasn't an Ugokanai and he was a pathetic shinigami. He couldn't do anything. But... everything couldn't just end like this.

_H-hanataro? _Came the voice of Hisagomaru. _C-can I speak with you... in the inner world? _The zanpakuto seemed extremely worried. So worried in fact, that he didn't ask his master's permission before the medic found himself in the desolate gray forest. Immediately, he was hit by a wave of voices. Hundreds of them. Curious, he followed the noise to an old-fashioned ham radio where a thirteen year-old boy stood waiting, covering his ears.

"YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT STOOOOP!" He yelled in a familiar metallic voice above the noise. The boy had gray skin and long, shaggy red hair. His clothing was shiny and silver and a long red scar ran down one of his eyes.

"H-hisagomaru? What is this?" He pointed at the wooden radio. He also noticed a headset beside it.

"I- I don't know! It just appeared one day and it hasn't shut up since! It just gets louder and louder!"

"Why didn't you tell me before?!"

"I didn't want to bother you!" Hanataro sighed.

"Thank you for your consideration, but there is an Invincible that appeared and we're all going to die..."

"But Hanataro, can't you do something about it?" The boy questioned.

The shinigami looked at him. "No! I'm just a Squad 4 member. I'm not an Ugo-"

"Why can't you be?"

He paused. "... I can't be because I'm not. I made a promise. So I'm not. I'm not an Ugokanai." He looked at the twisted grey trees around him as he spoke, remembering Eriko's bedroom walls.

"B-but..."

"What am I doing here at a time like this?" A voice came behind them. They both turned to see Eriko, dressed in a black lacey dress with black flowers that were known in the Soul Society as "ink stains" in her dark hair, and oddly enough, a black head set. "And what are you doing here? And who is that?" she pointed at the two males.

"Eriko? How did you get here?" Hanataro asked. He had always assumed inner worlds were more or less private places.

"I-I don't really know. One minute you're completely unresponsive and then that damn Invincible came after me so I ran... And I don't know. Next thing I know I'm in here." She looked down at herself. "Jeez, why am I wearing this? Well, nevermind. Why are _you_ here?"

"This is my zanpakuto's inner world." He replied. "This is Hisagomaru."

"Oh," she said, looking at the gray-skinned boy. "I'm Eriko Tobe." She introduced herself. "It's good to meet you."

The zanpakuto smiled. "Nice to meet you to. Hanataro, we have to do something about that Hollow before it kills us all!" He eyed his master, pleading.

Hanataro looked at Eriko. She was as good as dead at this point. Who knew? Maybe they both already were. And Ichigo. What was happening to him. He looked at the radio, still blaring the random voices, saying nothing in particular.

_Got to buy more milk..._

_ I hope this isn't on the test!_

_ Where did I put my glasses?_

He quickly realized they weren't voices but thoughts. The kind that found their way into his mind, and apparently Hisagomaru's forest. The head set still lay next to it. He knew what it was for and absolutely refused to have anything to do with it. Among the thoughts, one staticy, slippery, cold one stood out.

_It's no fun to eat souls without a fight. It's such a riot to watch them slash at you again and again. Oh look, the idiot's getting back up... Orange-haired big shot...doesn't know when to quit. ...guess I'll be merciful and put him out of his misery... _

At that moment, without thinking, Hanataro reached out to the radio and instinctively fiddled with the dials until he heard only that voice, although it was little more than static and difficult to hear. He was aware that the Invincibles' despair energy made then difficult to hear and even harder to control. Ichigo was in trouble and he was out of time. Panicked he grabbed the headset and put it on, finally quieting the forest from the noise, and fumbled again with the radio's knobs until he heard one other voice. This one was perfectly clear.

_He knows what he's doing. Yet he doesn't. What is this radio and why is he bothering with it now? _

_ Eriko? Eriko can you hear me? _The black-clad girl was surprised to hear her friend's voice come through her own headset. She watched him as he spoke.

_Y-yeah. W-why do we have these? I don't understand._

_ Me neither, _he spoke with a rational and calm voice. _Just listen to me and I'll listen to you, okay? That's the best we can do._

The two suddenly were hit by a blinding whiteness, then only a silent nothingness. Until finally they found themselves back in Karakura Town and Ichigo in the Invincible's clutches. Eriko nodded at the medic and took out the Despair Dagger.

Immediately, everything became instinctual. The brunette girl sprinted up a fire escape, jumped off, and slashed at the creature's wrist, forcing him to let go of the unconscious substitute shinigami. The blade was able to cause him pain, but only temporarily. The two tumbled through the air before she crashed onto a nearby rooftop.

_Get Ichigo_. She heard a steady voice remind her. She screamed as she saw the boy fall from the great height. She quickly grabbed the black fabric around him and pulled him to safety on the black shingles.

From the ground, Hanataro concentrated with his eyes closed. He heard the Hollow's disturbing thoughts.

_I'm gonna kill that little bitch. One quick bite and..._

_ Eriko! MOVE!_

He heard a loud crash, hoping she had reacted quick enough.

_I'm good._

Relieved, he went back to work. How was he going to do this? He wasn't trained in the least. How was he going to convince a _Hollow _to agree with him. Then again. They were just souls. Souls with unfortunate fates. Remembering this, he tried again.

_You could be killing your sister right now._

_ I DON'T HAVE A SISTER! WHAT AM I THINKING?_

The shinigami managed a slight grin as he concentrated his thoughts further. Sweat dripped down his nose. That one thought had taken a lot out of him for some reason. He pushed that aside and focused.

_ That's right. You already did._

_ I don't have a- wait._

Eriko's mind-voice found its way to his consciousness. _He stopped attacking. What's going on?_

_ G-give me a second, Eri._

_ You.. okay? What are you doing down there? _He stood with his eyes closed, completely still.

_Just be ready. You won't have a very long opening._

It took him several long, energy-draining minutes to remind the soul within the Hollow that he indeed had a sister he was responsible for murdering. An extremely lucky guess that in hindsight, he probably shouldn't have taken a chance on.

"WHAT HAVE I BECOME?" The Invincible finally screeched, pounding its enormous fist onto the sidewalk, which sent shards of cement flying.

_NOW!_

Eriko flung herself from the roof, dagger in hand, and thrust the weapon into the Invincible's shoulder. It's protection became visible in the form of a strange blackness surrounding its body, which slowly began to crack. She held on to the tiny hilt for dear life, being a good forty feet off the ground.

Hanataro could feel the delicate cracks grow and spread out. But as they did, the Hollow began to resist. The shinigami gritting his teeth as he dug deeper into the beast's soul. He was able to find quick flashes of memories that he attempted to resurface. Just enough to keep him compliant. To make him remember what he once was and what he had become. Oddly, he wasn't nervous or unsure of himself. There wasn't time for doubt. He was weak with exhaustion, but knew it was crucial that he not falter now. Just a few more seconds...

His blue eyes popped open as the black barrier finally shattered. The Hollow roared and swiped at the Despairer on his shoulder. Eriko jumped down just in time, landing gracefully on top of a convenience store. Realizing the Hollow was still a threat, Hanataro unsheathed his zanpakuto as he rushed up to the rooftop where Ichigo lay. He stabbed his friend's chest and watched as the red gauge filled. The Hollow turned away from Eriko and came after the two shinigami. Just as it was about to bite the smaller one's head off, it's mask was hit by a powerful cero-like energy. In a moment, it disappeared.

The orange-haired teenager on the ground was somewhat awake at this point.

"W-what? What just happened?" he mumbled as he rubbed his head.

"Ichigo! I-I have to..." Hanataro panted, "I have to finish healing your wounds. Ichigo looked at the medic. Beads of sweat ran down his face and his heavy breathing was shaky. Despite that, he was as cheerful as ever as his hands began to glow with healing kido.

"The Invincible... where did it go?" he asked perplexed. He doubted someone had to have taken it down. Maybe it retreated.

Hanataro, for some reason, didn't respond and suddenly looked very guarded. Eriko came up behind them with an odd look on her face.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" She whispered, voice shaking.

The seventh seat bit his lip, saying nothing. He continued to focus on healing, but Ichigo noticed a flicker of panic go through his eyes.

Eriko spoke again, softly. "Hanataro, you're... you..."

Urahara and his employees suddenly appeared as well. Who knew how long he was just sitting back watching the show. "Well, well, well. That was something. I wouldn't have expected all that from Mr. Yamada and our strange new ally. I'll admit, it was quite a surprise. Although, it puzzles me that Miss Tobe was able to penetrate the shield around the Invincible, considering she explained this could only be done with the help of an Ugokanai."

At that moment, a senkaimon appeared, depositing Captain Unahana and Lieutenant Kotetsu, Captain Kenpachi and Lieutenant Yachiru, and Captain Hitsugaya.

"C-captain! What's going on?" Hanataro stuttered.

She smiled slightly. "We were finally able to restart the technology that was used to find Invincibles after they were reduced to average Hollows. If this can only be achieved by an Ugokanai, then I believe you must have been successful in your mission. We owe you much gratitude, Hanataro. Thank you for your help. Now, we must speak to the Ugokanai."

No one said a word.

"Come on, let's get on with it," Kenpachi demanded. "Where's the mind warper? Sooner or later, there's going to be a battle I want to fight!"

"Maybe it's that girl!" Yachiru pointed at Eriko. The others took on confused looks as they wondered what a mere human was doing here.

The girl shook her head. "My name is Eriko Tobe... I'm a Despairer, the secret traditional battle partner of the Ugokanai and the original wielder of the Despair Dagger." She held out the small blade and let it flash in the moonlight. Captain Unahana looked to her seventh seat, who nodded.

"Well, then," she asked. "Where is your traditional battle partner?"

Eriko stared hard at her friend who only looked away in response. She hadn't met him long ago, but she had felt as if she knew him. And now...

"What are you?" She demanded, her voice tense.

"I-I'm the seventh seat of the fourth..." She ignored him as she knelt down, making her emerald eyes even with his. She gingerly grasped the fabric on his shoulder and pulled it down. Just enough to reveal a pale gold, pinwheel-shaped symbol.

_Note: Hey y'all! I'm sorry that was such a long chapter and it took a while to finish, but I hoped you liked it! I was going to divide it in two chapters, but oh well. I sort of modified Hisagomaru because when he appears, Hanataro doesn't recognize him at first and my theory was always that this was because he usually took on a different form. Like how Rengi's is usually a monkey and snake. Except... in reverse I guess. I don't know. I'll try to update soon! Read and review XD _

_love and glitter,_

_spiffyglitter:)_


	13. The Truth

okay everyone, I accidentally uploaded the wrong file (the last one was a crappier, randomly cut off one.) here is the one i intended to publish.

Oh my god, I know, I suck. I promised myself I would update at least every 2 weeks and its been soooo long! I kept trying to write, but I got to that point where I really had no idea where to go with the story. (A lot of the plot was preplanned, but this little bit gave me serious writer's block.)

No one spoke for what seemed like ages. Hanataro could feel Eriko's confusion as she curiously brushed her fingertips over his damaged flesh, not thinking anything in particular, more like one giant jumbled mess. She pulled her hand away and suddenly aggressively grabbed his collar as her father had and jerked his head so the shinigami was looking at her straight on. And Hanataro had thought she was nothing like the recently deceased man. Her eyes were vivid with emotion.

"What. Are. You?" she repeated in a demanding voice.

He wanted to answer her. He wanted to have an answer. But in all the years since his birth he still didn't have one. What was he? He tried to look away from her. She snapped his face forward so they retained eye contact. She wouldn't be satisfied until he responded. The medic would have come up with some sort of excuse, but at this point, he was just tired. Tired from the recent battle, tired from his tedious past, and tired from constantly denying everything about himself. He just wanted to crawl in a hole and hibernate until the next millennium.

"Well you're a damn good liar," she hissed as she roughly shoved him backwards. "You've got even yourself fooled." The girl turned away.

Urahara snapped his fingers in realization. "Head Ugokanai Shiori!" He laughed. All eyes turned to him and his seemingly irrelevant exclamation. The man continued to laugh. "The most powerful Ugokanai to be born in hundreds of years!" He pointed to Hanataro, who was paralyzed with fear. "They were set on looking alike you couldn't tell them apart, but no doubt, those are Shiori's eyes through and through!" He paused to let out a string of chuckles. "Mr. Yamada if I'm not mistaken, you would be the son of-"

"No." the seventh seat stated in an assertive way that was unlike him, startling the group. He took in an uneven breath. "Please. Do not disrespect the Ugokanai Clan. What you are implying isn't true."

The man nodded in agreement. "I didn't mean to disrespect the Ugokanai Clan. What I'm implying isn't true." The others turned to him with odd expressions. He had just completely contradicted himself.

"No, I didn't mean it!" Hanataro blurted out, frantic. "Think what you want, Mr. Urahara! I don't want to..." He trailed off, defeated. He didn't know what he was saying anymore.

_I always knew there was something different about him. But I guess he knew that, _Eriko thought angrily. _I wonder if he can still hear me._

_Yeah... I can hear you._

_Good! _She said icily. _Because I have a few choice words for you, you LYING, MANIPULATING, SELF-CENTERED-_

_I didn't mean to-_

_Even when everyone was depending on you... WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ADMIT IT? You're such an... UGOKANAI!_

_I'm not a-_

_You lied to me. You lied to everyone. AND YOU STILL ARE! _

_Eriko-_

_I don't understand. I thought we were friends. A team._

_We... I'm sorry! I didn't want to-_

_Sorry isn't going to cut it. No, we're not friends. I don't think we ever were, were we? And you know what? I hate you._

By now, the two were sitting back to back. Hanataro was used to people hating him. He didn't have many close friends. But... Eriko. They had fought together. She had trusted him with her life. And she hated him. He sighed.

_I'm sorry, Ugokanai Shiori. I can't do this anymore, _he thought. Then, he shakily stood up, took a deep breath, and exposed the Ugokanai symbol on his back again, along with his many burns and scars.

"Head Ugokanai Shiori was forced into an arranged marriage. She was a highly gifted Ugokanai. Powerful. Respected. And I ruined everything." He began, gritting his teeth.

Captain Unahana commented softly, "There was a rumor once. There were so many they couldn't be taken seriously. Some said Ugokanai Shiori... and Taro Yamada... and it was..."

"Yes, it was true. And it wasn't the last affair she had either, in case anyone was wondering," the seventh seat looked down.

The highly ranked shinigami around him gaped in disbelief.

"She was just... troubled, I think. I don't know. I know I wasn't born with golden hair and white skin, though. The characteristics of the Ugokanai. It was obvious my father wasn't her husband. So the Ugokanai elders immediately punished her by stripping her of all status. It was my fault," he continued, eyes blurring with tears.

"She hid the scandal by passing me off as a servant's child. I knew I was different from the others. I had my own thoughts. I could refuse to obey." he began to talk very fast. "But I didn't disobey her. Ugokanai Shirori always looked so angry and hurt and I thought if I just did what she asked and kept it a secret she would feel better. And I promised I would never call myself her son and that I would never claim to be an Ugokanai and I stayed away from the rest of the Clan so they wouldn't suspect anything."

He slowed down as he told the rest of his story. "I was hardly more than a baby myself when I was assigned to be the servant of her youngest child, Ugokanai Eriko. If I was busy with her, no one would have to see me. I cared about her more than anything." He became aware of the tears escaping his eyelids. Feeling pathetic, he wiped them away. "She wasn't like them. She was kind and perfect and pure and she's dead," he hissed. "I couldn't save her. When the palace started burning down, I looked everywhere for her. Maybe if I was faster... but I wasn't and by the time I got her out she was just about gone. I tried. I didn't know anything about healing kido back then but I tried. And I failed and I lost her." His voice was dark and seemed aged, as if spoken by one who had endured a long and difficult past.

"It was far beyond your experience," Captain Unahana tried to console him. "Which was why when I arrived at the scene I suggested you enroll at the Academy. I knew you had to be a Yamada, no doubt."

He looked up at the clear blue sky. "I was called Taro, after my father. No last name. When I entered the Academy, I enrolled under Hanataro Yamada." He closed his eyes. I used to take her out to the flower garden and tell her about the plants that grew there. She loved the flowers. She called me Hana-Taro. That's the only thing from my past I kept when I became a shinigami."

"But you were always so cheerful!" Lieutenant Kotetsu said, shocked.

Hanataro smiled, "Well, it was all a long time ago. I... I've come to accept it. Bad things happen to good people. So... I just tried to forget and focus on the Soul Society and Squad 4."

"So," Ichigo said from the ground. "You mean to tell me you knew all along you could do something about all this and you just played dumb? Jeez, Eri's right. You are a damn good liar."

"I didn't know!" he explained exasperatingly. "Sometimes abilities don't develop until well into adulthood! Sometimes they don't at all! I thought I hadn't inherited any until about a month ago! And then the Invincibles showed up and I didn't know what to do!"

"And you panicked and went into hyper-paranoia instead of using your abilities to help us," Eriko finished in a bored tone. "You're pathetic."

"I know," he said calmly. She stood up and shook her head.

"I'm done with this. If there are any Ugokanai left and they're anything like you, we're all just wasting our time." Eriko turned and left. He watched her go, becoming smaller and smaller in the distance.

Then he turned to the others around him. "I'm very sorry for everything I did. I was dishonest and weak. But... I don't really care. I retained Ugokanai Shiori's honor for as long as I could. But I couldn't anymore. Not if I'm going to do anything about what's coming."

"You... you're tougher than you look," Ichigo muttered. "Defending your family's name like that. Who would've thought?"

"Yes, very admirable. Now what are we going to do about this mess?" Hitsugaya interjected in his all-business manner.

Hanataro sighed. "I don't know." Strange things have been going on lately. And I feel like it's all connected somehow. I think whatever it is, it operates on a different frequency than shinigami."

"Like Ugokanai?" Unahana asked.

"Yes. Eriko's father was recently killed. It seemed like an accident, but... The energy surrounding him was almost certainly Ugokanai."

"But... that doesn't make any... Is this clan evil?" Ichigo asked.

"NO! They... they're just only interested in power. I guess when you can make anyone do whatever you want..."

"Alright kid, we get it!" Kenpachi roared. "I'm not just hanging around here like an idiot."

Hanataro had just noticed that his excessive spiritual power didn't seem as powerful to him now. "I-I'm s-sorry, you do not need to be here, really. I apologize for wasting your time," he knelt on the ground, practically bowing.

"Quit that, you useless-" the stoney look in Captain Unahana's eyes was more threatening than he could ever be. "I mean, usually I wouldn't take orders from someone like-"

"Ah, forget it. Just tell us what to do."

"R-really, you'd work with an Ugokanai, sir? But I thought they were despised and..."

"I'll do what it takes too," Hitsugaya stepped forward.

The Squad 4 officers nodded in agreement. Ichigo shrugged. "Guess I'm already involved, huh?"

Looking into the faces of his new-found team, he asked, "B-but I-I lied, and I should be punished!"

"I want to punch you out right now as much as the next guy, but there's no time," Ichigo answered. "Tell us what to do."

Never having lead anything he started with the obvious. "We need to find Tobe Eriko. Without a Despairer, and Ugokanai is nothing."


End file.
